Browse Items · Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

Tags: loss

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On the day his daddy left

Adams, Eric J.//Adams, Kathleen

On the day his daddy leaves town, Danny wakes up early to write down a secret question, then he slips it into his pocket. He shows and talks about the secret question to his teacher, his mom, his friend, and even his dad. Each person tries to reassure Danny that his parent's divorce is not his fault. Danny's secret question flies away in the wind, but he still keeps asking other questions -- and he always will.

Hard to be six

Adoff, Arnold

This is one little boy's story of coming to accept his age. He feels inferior to his big ten year old sister and he longs to be old like her. It is not until he talks to his grandmother and sees his grandfather's grave that he realizes that life at any age is hard.

Tags

african american, aging, birthday, change, death, family, grandparents, holidays, loss, love, multicultural, parents, self esteem, siblings, verbal communication

Marianthe's story one: Painted words. Marianthe's story two: Spoken memories

Aliki

When a child moves to a new school it can be frightening. Mari not only moved to a new school, but a new culture as well. Mari uses painted pictures to communicate her words and recalls her life through spoken memories.

For sure! For sure!

Andersen, Hans Christian

Did you know that chickens gossip too? Come read about one chick that plucks out her feathers, supposedly to look good and impress her rooster. After one of her feathers is plucker, an owl sees her actions and spreads the word. The story gets turned around and exaggerated especially when the newspaper prints it.

Tags

animals, bat, behavior, birds, chicken, death, differences, fable, family, feelings, fly, friendship, gossip, hearing, loss, love, newspaper, owl, peace, play, storytelling, truth

Billy and the big new school

Anholt, Laurence

Billy is very nervous about starting at his new school. He wants to stay home with his mother. Then he meets a small bird who is hurt and cannot fly. Billy takes care of it until it is ready to fly again. Find out how Billy gets himself ready to go to school and how he uses his bird story to make a friend.

Tags

animals, birds, blackbird, bravery, bully, change, clothing, conflict resolution, dreams, excitement, fear, feelings, food, friendship, loss, parents, pets, picnic, pigeon, preparation, school, self esteem, sparrow, starling, teaching, thrush, wish, worry

If nathan were here

Bahr, Mary

Nathan was a brother, a wonderful best friend, and a great classmate. Then one day, Nathan was gone. If Nathan Were Here tells a story of what it is like for a community and family to lose a loved one. This book shows us the true need and meaning for friendship.

Tags

baseball, change, coping, death, family, feelings, friendship, happiness, loss, love, memories, nonverbal communication, sadness, school, siblings, sports, stress management

Peacebound trains

Balgassi, Haemi

Sumi, a young Korean girl, lives with her grandmother when her mother goes off to the army. Sumi watches the train go by each day, wishing her mother would come home soon. The train reminds her grandmother of the days of war when she had to leave her own husband.

Tags

affection, aging, birthday, caring, change, chinese, coping, courage, death, destruction, dolls, family, feelings, freedom, grandparents, hope, korean, loss, multicultural, peace, presents, sadness, school, seasons, train, transportation, understanding, war, winter

Amelia's nine lives

Balian, Lorna

A little girl has the misfortune of losing her best friend, a cat named Amelia. Her friends and family try to help the little girl by giving her cats that look like Amelia. In the end, Amelia returns home with four kittens.

Tags

animals, birth, cat, conflict resolution, family, friendship, kindness, loss, numbers, pets

Halmoni's day

Bercaw, Edna Coe

Jennifer's Korean grandmother arrives just in time for Grandparents Day at school. But Jennifer is afraid that her grandmother will embarrass her because she doesn't speak English. However, after her grandmother tells Jennifer's class the story of her childhood, Jennifer is not embarrassed at all.

Tags

aging, airplane, communication, embarrassment, emotions, family, feelings, food, generations, grandparents, happiness, korean, language, loss, love, memory, multicultural, nonverbal communication, sadness, school, storytelling, time, transportation, travel, verbal communication, war

The goodbye painting

Berman, Linda

Nick's babysitter, Sara, is the best ever. She paints with him, bakes cookies with him, and even teaches him to paint. But one day, Sara has bad news for Nick -- soon she will be moving to California. Nick must learn to let go of not only a babysitter, but a good friend.

Tags

animals, art, caring, change, conflict resolution, coping, dog, feelings, friendship, happiness, loss, moving, sadness

We are moving

Biale, Rachel

Make a scrapbook on how do you feel before we move. Draw several pictures of how you feel. What does your house look like now?What will our new house look like?What is special to you before we move?

Tags

anger, author's note, change, community, confusion, coping, family, fear, feelings, happiness, loss, memories, moving, neighbors, perspective, sadness, school, separation, stress management, transportation, travel

Sweet dried apples: A vietnamese wartime childhood

Breckler, Rosemary

It is wartime in Vietnam, and a little girl who lives in the country is faced with the prospect of her father leaving for the army. Her father, the village herb doctor, comes to stay with them until he dies. Their village is bombed and the little girl and her family must flee Vietnam.

Tags

change, community, death, grandparents, language, loss, market, plants, siblings, travel, vietnamese, war

The notebook keeper: A story of kindness from the border

Briseno, Stephen

Families seeking asylum into the U.S. at the Tijuana, Mexico border have to wait for a long time to enter the United States after being denied entry. During the wait at the border, a girl and her mother look for a refugee who keeps a list of people waiting to cross into the United States. This act of kindness from the border, initiated by a notebook keeper, gives families hope as they wait.

Tags

asylum, author's note, central america, change, correspondence, Days of The Week, El Salvador, faith, feelings, food, guatemalan, haitian, history, hope, kindness, loneliness, loss, Mexico, multicultural, numbers, patience, perspective, refugee, safety, silence, travel, volunteer, writing

Dinosaurs divorce

Brown, Laurene Krasny//Brown, Marc

Divorce can be a scary thing for children. Questions and concerns about divorce can be answered with help from the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs explain everything from why parents divorce to celebrating holidays with two families to satisfy the inquisitive young mind.

Fox song

Bruchac, Joseph

Jamie remembers her grandmother and all the things that they did together. These memories help Jamie deal with the loss of her grandmother.

Tags

change, coping, critical thinking, death, family, grandparents, loss, love, memories, multicultural, native american, traditions

Winter fox

Brutschy, Jennifer

A little girl gets a pet rabbit and discovers that a fox has eaten her pet. She goes with her father to hunt the fox, but feels sorry for it when she sees its hungry eyes. Then she asks her father not to kill it.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, death, disappearance, feelings, fox, hunting, loss, pets, rabbit, sadness, seasons, snow, verbal communication, weather, winter

So far from the sea

Bunting, Eve

Laura and her family are moving, so they are coming to visit the Manzanar War Relocation Center one last time. Years ago, this center was used to house anyone living in the United States that were of Japanese descent. These people were forced to leave their homes and come to the center because Japan bombed the United States. The center is bare now except for all of the memories and the cemetary, including her grandfather's grave.

Tags

acceptance, airplane, american, anger, anticipation, assertiveness, author's note, awareness, bias, bravery, change, citizen, cold, community, conflict, confusion, critical thinking, crow, culture, death, differences, discrimination, diversity, family, fear, feelings, flowers, forgiveness, generations, ghosts, grandparents, growing up, history, illness, japanese, loss, memories, monuments, mountains, moving, prison, sea, sky, snow, survival, verbal communication, war

Smoky night

Bunting, Eve

A riot breaks out in a young boys neighborhood which leads to his apartment building catching on fire. This tragedy brings together people from different backgrounds when they share in the trauma of both losing their cats and having their homes taken over by fire.

Tags

animals, cat, community, conflict, conflict resolution, death, destruction, fire, forgiveness, loss

I have an olive tree

Bunting, Eve

On Sophia's seventh birthday, her grandfather gave her an olive tree. Sophia is a little disappointed by the gift and doesn't understand why her grandfather would give her an olive tree that she can't even see. After all, it is Greece and she lives in California! It isn't until her grandfather passes away that Sophia truly understands the importance and meaning of the gift when she and her mother visit the olive tree in Greece.

Tags

appreciation, birthday, communication, community, culture, customs, dedication, disappointment, emotions, exploration, family, feelings, generations, geology, giving, grandparents, greece, greek, grief, immigrants, instruments, language, learning, loss, love, memories, memory, misunderstanding, music, parents, plants, presents, resentment, sadness, traditions, travel, tree, understanding, verbal communication

The little princess

Burnett, Frances Hodge

Young Sara is forced to attend Miss Minchin's select seminary for young girls in London when her father gets shipped off to war. Miss Minchin, the director of the seminary becomes a bit apprehensive about Sara's stay with them because her father said that she is to have the very best of everything. When a note arrives that says Sara's father died, things change for the worse. Poor Sara is forced to live the life of a slave. She eventually meets up with an Indian gentleman who helps her to gain her life back.

Tags

adventures, aging, beverage, celebration, change, child care, conflict resolution, death, emotions, family, food, hard work, hindu, hunger, indian, learning, loss, love, mistake, multicultural, nonverbal communication, orphan, party, persistence, problem solving, relationship, resentment, school, sharing, slavery, sleep, storytelling, support, war

I'm not moving, mama!

Carlstrom, Nancy White

A young boy is apprehensive about moving to another house. The boy is willing to let his mother take all of his things, but he is not willing to go. She reminds him that at his new home he will have many new things and special places, but more importantly, the family will be together.

Tags

change, decision making, differences, family, feelings, loss, memories, moving, parents, sadness, stress management, toys

Snow on snow on snow

Chapman, Cheryl

Playing in the winter snow leads to a search for a missing companion.

Tags

animals, clothing, companion, dog, food, friendship, loss, missing, nutrition, play, seasons, snow, winter

Grandpa's teeth

Clement, Rod

Grandpa's teeth have been stolen!Officer Rate comes to investigate and they put wanted posters all over town. To avoid becoming a suspect, everyone in town begins to smile all the time. Tourists are afraid to get out of their cars because everyone is smiling. The problem is solved with a collection of money to get Grandpa new teeth, and the crime is solved in the process.

Tags

animals, careers, crime, dog, feelings, grandparents, loss, mystery, robbery, sadness, teeth, television

Everett anderson's goodbye

Clifton, Lucille

After his father's death, Everett learns how to accept this loss. The young boy suffers through the five stages of grief to learn that even when someone you love dies, your love for them does not die.

Tags

coping, death, family, learning, loss, memory, parents, sadness, stress management

Mr. Tanen's tie trouble

Cocca-Leffler, Maryann

The principal of Lynnhurst School, Mr. Tanen, is known for his unbelievable collection of 975 ties. He has a tie for every occasion! When the plan for the new playground falls through, everyone is shocked to see Mr. Tannen part with his beloved ties as he auctions them off so that the children at Lynnhurst School can enjoy their new playground.

My big brother

Cohen, Miriam

A little boy idolizes his big brother and wants to be exactly like him. They do everything together. When his family cannot pay for college, the older child joins the army. His little brother then takes his place being big brother to their youngest sibling.

Tags

african american, basketball, car, church, correspondence, family, feelings, food, happiness, loss, love, multicultural, nutrition, sadness, siblings, sports, television, transportation, writing

Molly's rosebush

Cohn, Janice

A young girl deals with the loss of her newborn sibling. After spending time with her grandmother, she is better able to understand death.

Tags

baby, death, family, feelings, grandparents, grief, loss, love, miscarriage, parents, sadness, siblings

Wash day

Cole, Barbara H.

Every wash day, Granpa plays his trumpet, keeping the children entertained while Miss. Ett does the wash. This music tradition stays strong until grandpa becomes ill and a tragedy occurs, causing grandpa to pass on his beloved trumpet to begin a new tradition.

Tags

clothing, family, feelings, fire, friendship, grandparents, happiness, helping, illness, instruments, loss, memories, multicultural, music, neighbors, parents, president, pretend, respect, sadness, traditions, train, work

Miss Bridie chose a shovel

Conner, Leslie

In 1856, Miss Bridie traveled to America with only her family shovel. She finds many uses for her shovel and it proves to be the right choice. She carves her path through life with a simple everyday shovel.

Tags

aging, baby, critical thinking, death, drought, exercise, family, farm, feelings, flood, flowers, garden, happiness, history, ice, immigrants, loss, marriage, parents, plants, sadness, seasons, ship, siblings, skating, tools, transportation, travel

The tub people

Conrad, Pam

The Tub People are wooden toys who love to play in the tub. Until one day the child of the Tub People gets sucked down the drain. Eventually, a plumber is called and he rescues the child. The next day the Tub People find themselves in a new room with no drains.

Tags

careers, conflict resolution, family, loss, nonverbal communication, play, reunion, stress management, verbal communication

Room for a stepdaddy

Cook, Jean Thor

Joey wishes Daddy still lived at home and has a great deal of trouble accepting Bill, his new stepfather. After many experiences with Bill, like playing ball and swimming, Joey decides there is plenty of room in his life for Daddy and Bill. He loves both of them.

Tags

amphibians, animals, autumn, cat, change, conflict resolution, coping, dog, exercise, family, feelings, food, frog, happiness, loss, nonverbal communication, parents, park, playing, presents, sadness, school, seasons, spring, stepfather, summer, swimming, verbal communication, winter

Why did we have to move here?

Davies, Sally J.K.

A little boy is having problems adjusting to his new home. He compares his new school to his old school which makes him feel sad and frustrated. The boy decides to go ice skating with other kids even though he isn't invited. He helps to solve a problem when the ice isn't safe.

Tags

anger, art, assertiveness, author's note, change, critical thinking, feelings, friendship, happiness, hockey, ice, loneliness, loss, math, moving, nonverbal communication, play, playground, problem solving, sadness, safety, school, science, shyness, skating, sports, stress management

Dragon in the rocks: A story based on the childhood of early paleontologist Mary Anning

Day, Marie

A twelve year old girl loves to find and dig out fossils from the cliffs along the beach. She helps out her family financially by selling the fossils. She uncovers a rare dinosaur and digs it out by herself. Her determination shows as she pieces the puzzle together.

Tags

beach, bodies of water, bones, critical thinking, death, determination, dinosaur, england, extinction, family, fossil, goal setting, history, loss, market, museum, ocean, parents, rhyme, sequence, siblings

My mother lost her job today

Delton, Judy

A six-year-old's mother loses her job. As she watches how upset her mother is, she wonders if life will ever be the same again.

Tags

anger, birthday, careers, change, coping, family, feelings, loss, parents, sadness

Nana upstairs and nana downstairs

dePaola, Tomie

Tommy loves both Nana Downstairs because she is always in the kitchen and a great-grandma, Nana Upstairs, because she is always in bed. Both of them eventually die, and Tommy grows up and learns how to deal with death.

Tags

change, conflict resolution, coping, death, feelings, food, friendship, grief, loss, sadness, stress management, verbal communication

I lost my tooth in africa

Diakite, Penda

Amina and her parents take a trip to Mali to visit family. On the way, Amina realizes that her tooth is loose! While visiting her father's family, Amina loses the tooth and places it under a calabash tree. She receives a hen and a rooster from the African Tooth Fairy.

Tags

africa, african, airplane, animals, birds, body parts, cattle, change, chicken, community, cooking, cow, culture, differences, donkey, family, food, games, garden, goat, grandparents, language, loss, maps, morning, multicultural, music, night, parents, pattern, pheasant, play, prayer, recipe, singing, sleep, song, storytelling, teeth, traditions, travel, tree, vacation, village, wish

The sleeping lady

Dixon, Ann

Nekatla and Susitha are a young couple preparing to wed. THe wedding is put on hold when war breaks out, and Nekatla must travel to another village to try to restore peace. Susitha waits on a grassy hill for Nekatla to return, and she falls asleep. Nekatla is killed in war, and Susitha never awakens and is now known as the sleeping lady.

Tags

adventures, anger, author's note, bravery, celebration, communication, conflict resolution, culture, death, decision making, dreams, fable, feelings, happiness, history, hope, loss, love, nonverbal communication, relationship, sleep, snow, teamwork, verbal communication, violence, war, weather, wedding, worry

Ida B. Wells, voice of truth

Duster, Michelle

Ira B. Wells was an educator, feminist, and anti-lynching civil rights leader who founded many important clubs for African Americans. Even when faced with threats and criticisms, Ida B. Wells still kept writing, speaking, and traveling to challenge the racist and sexist norms of her time and leading the fight for justice and equality as a leader who made a difference for us all.

Tags

african american, author's note, careers, change, children, correspondence, courage, education, equality, justice, leadership, loss, marriage, multicultural, newspaper, organizations, photograph, politics, racism, slavery, suffrage, teaching, technology, train, transportation, travel, truth

Papa's latkes

Edwards, Michelle

A Jewish family deals with the recent death of their mother and wife, while trying to keep their Chanukan traditions alive. Each family member deals with their emotions. They work as a single parent family to move on, while embracing their traditions of the past.

Bird

Elliot, Zetta

Mehkai struggles with the challenges of life: death of his grandfather and his older brother's drug addition. He soon learns how to cope and manage his stress through drawing. In fact, drawing is an outlet for Bird's emotions and imagination. Mehkai learns the benefits of perseverance, hard work, and family.

Tags

african american, aggression, airplane, art, birds, buildings, crime, day, death, decision making, drawing, dreams, drugs, emotions, family, feelings, grandparents, hard work, imagination, instruments, loss, museum, music, park, problem solving, relationship, robbery, school, siblings, storytelling, stress management, technology

Grandmother's pigeon

Erdrich, Louise

When grandmother leaves for Greenland on a porpoise, her family cleans out her room. While cleaning, they find a nest which has hatching bird eggs. The family eventually set the pigeons free, but they get something in return.

Tags

animals, birds, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, extinction, family, grandparents, greed, loss, nature, pigeon

My grandpa died today

Fassler, Joan

David's grandfather dies. David learns how to deal with the grief by knowing his grandfather went to a better place. This helps David feel better.

Tags

conflict resolution, death, decision making, family, feelings, grandparents, grief, loss, stress management

The hickory chair

Fraustino, Lisa Rowe

Louis is born blind. He and his Gran play hide-and-seek or just sit and tell stories in her favorite old hickory chair. When Gran dies, her memory lives on through the gifts she leaves behind for her family.

Tags

blindness, correspondence, Days of The Week, death, family, feelings, five senses, flowers, games, giving, grandparents, loss, love, memories, nonverbal communication, play, relationship, shadows, smell, storytelling, surprises, touch, verbal communication

Fly high, fly low

Freeman, Don

Sid and Marge, a pigeon and a dove, choose to live and settle down in an old city sign. One day, when Sid is gone and Marge is left behind, the sign is demolished.

Tags

asian, birds, dove, family, loss, peer resistance, pigeon, shelter

Henny penny

Galdone, Paul

An acorn falls on Henny Penny's head and she thinks the sky is falling. She goes to tell the king, and a few of her friends go with her. A fox lures them into his cave and eats up Henny Penny and her friends.

Tags

animals, birds, conflict resolution, death, fear, feelings, food, fox, friendship, loss, misunderstanding, royalty, shelter, sly

The gingerbread boy

Galdone, Paul

In desire for a boy of their own, a couple bakes a gingerbread boy. The gingerbread boy comes to life, and runs for freedom while being chased by hungry people. A fox, who outsmarts the boy, ends up with a tasty snack.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, death, decision making, family, fantasy, fear, feelings, food, fox, hunger, loss, nutrition, parents

The snow goose

Gallico, Mary//Gallico, Paul

A young, naive girl attempts to understand her environment in the midst of war. She does this through the love of the birds who live in this area.

Tags

autumn, birds, bodies of water, critical thinking, decision making, feelings, fog, goose, happiness, history, loss, love, nonverbal communication, rain, sadness, sea, seasons, snow, spring, summer, sun, verbal communication, war, weather, winter

Dream wolf

Goble, Paul

This Native American story describes some boys who are alone in the wild at night. They meet a wolf who has close kinship to a tribe until the white men drives the wolves away. The boys bring the wolves back.

Tags

animals, birds, bodies of water, conflict resolution, critical thinking, deer, feelings, happiness, loss, multicultural, native american, nonverbal communication, rabbit, reunion, river, wolf

Grandpa's slide show

Gould, Deborah

Sam and Douglas love visiting their grandparents. When they are at their grandparents house, they always watch old slides. However, this is interrupted for a while when their Grandfather dies and they learn to deal with death.

Tags

change, critical thinking, death, family, grandparents, loss, love, memories, sadness, self esteem, stress management

Through the mickle woods

Gregory, Valiska

Three mythical stories told by a wise old bear help a mourning king go on with his life after his wife, the queen, dies.

Tags

animals, bear, beauty, death, discovery, feelings, loss, mythical, royalty, sadness

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