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

Tags: separation

Sort by:

Harmonica

Johnston, Tony

A young boy and his parents fill their home singing with the gramophone using music as a language of family love. When the Nazis invade Poland, the family is separated by adults and children into two concentration camps. The boy plays a harmonica his father gave him to bring back memories of this parents dancing to music by the composer Schubert. A commandant orders the boy to play his harmonica which he does, but not for the commandant. He tries to play loudly to comfort the starving people in the concentration camp.

Tags

conflict resolution, dancing, history, hunger, instruments, language, love, memories, music, nonverbal communication, parents, Poland, separation, singing, war

Franklin has a sleepover

Bourgeois, Paulette

Franklin and Bear are excited for their first sleepover at Franklin's house. It's fun to play games, have a campfire, and campout in the livingroom with your friend. However, when it's time to go to bed, Bear and Franklin realize how scary sleepovers can be.

Tags

animals, anticipation, bear, bedtime, camping, conflict resolution, critical thinking, emotions, excitement, fear, feelings, food, friendship, games, growing up, happiness, health, homesickness, parents, playing, pretend, sadness, safety, separation, toys, traditions, turtle

God bless the child

Holiday, Billie & Herzog, Arthur Jr.

Each day is a work day for which to be thankful and grateful. There's a lot of work to be done on this land. It's time to go and experience the city life up north where things are different. Dream on, my child!

Tags

closeness, community, education, emotions, exploration, family, feelings, hard work, migration, parents, playing, reading, separation, siblings, skills, transportation, travel, wealth, work, worry

My parents are divorced, my elbows have nicknames, and other facts about me

Cochran, Bill

Ted's parents are divorced but that doesn't make him weird. His elbows have nicknames and he sleeps with a sock on one foot, and he admits that may make him weird. Ted lists off many other facts about himself that may seem weird to others, but that's him and he is happy the way he is! He is sad though when his parents can't hug him at the same time.

Tags

attention, body parts, cleanliness, comparisons, coping, divorce, feelings, halloween, happiness, holidays, hygiene, pretend, sadness, self esteem, separation, stress management, uniqueness

The balloon sailors

Swanson, Diana

When bickering princes take the throne, the kingdom is split in two by a wall so that each brother rules half. The kingdom is divided and it is illegal for people to cross the wall. Since Tamala and Abalon are forbidden to see their grandmother and cousin on the other side of the wall, they decide to float over it in a hot air balloon. They work with their parents to collect materials, build the balloon, and wait for the perfect weather conditions. The family departs during the night, escapes military fire from soldiers, and surprises their relatives in the morning. This adventure is loosely based on the true story of two East German families sailing over the Berlin Wall in their own hot air balloon in 1979.

Tags

accomplishment, argument, balloon, barn, bodies of water, bravery, challenges, church, clothing, conflict resolution, cooperation, correspondence, cow, creativity, crisis, dog, emotions, family, germany, goal setting, grandparents, hard work, helping, history, love, multicultural, parents, patience, pets, politics, pond, prison, quilt, reunion, royalty, rules, sadness, separation, sewing, spy, teamwork, train, transportation, verbal communication, weather, wind, writing

Breakfast with my father

Roy, Ron

When David's mother and father are separated, David and his dad only see each other during their special Saturday morning breakfasts. All winter, David's dad comes every Saturday except for one. After sulking all morning, David goes downstairs in his house and is pleasantly surprised to see his mom and dad eating breakfast together.

Tags

change, coping, disappointment, divorce, family, feelings, food, happiness, love, nutrition, parents, sadness, seasons, separation, siblings, surprises, winter

Star of fear, star of hope

Hoelstlandt, Jo

Helen doesn't understand why her best friend, Lydia, has to wear a yellow star. On the eve of Helen's birthday, Nazis begin rounding up Jews. Their friendship is lost forever.

Tags

assertiveness, bias, change, confusion, decision making, family, friendship, history, Jewish, loss, missing, nonverbal communication, parents, separation, stereotypes, stress management, verbal communication

I hate goodbyes

Szaj, Kathleen

Katie hates goodbyes!She would rather sing at the top of her lungs, yell at her teddy bear or wiggle her loose teeth than tell her loved ones goodbye. Her family helps her cope with goodbyes, then very soon she will be saying hellos.

Tags

airplane, anger, bedtime, change, chicken pox, coping, family, feelings, food, friendship, grandparents, illness, loss, nonverbal communication, parents, refusal skills, sadness, separation, teeth, toys

Punch in new york

Provensen, Alice

Mr. Punch is separated from his fellow puppets when he is stolen by a thief. He has many adventures in New York City then is finally reunited with his puppet show. The puppets perform for the richest man in the world.

Tags

adventures, creativity, dolls, performance, puppets, robbery, separation, stress management, verbal communication

Mom and dad break up

Prestine, Joan Singleton

A young boy expresses his feelings about his parents' divorce. He feels angry, sad, and lonely at the same time, and often takes it out on his friends. But eventually, he learns to adjust to the change, and learns that he is not at fault for the break up of his parents.

Tags

aggression, anger, art, biking, conflict resolution, coping, divorce, dreams, exercise, feelings, food, friendship, frustration, illness, loneliness, loss, parents, picnic, play, reading, sadness, seasons, self esteem, separation, skating, sledding, snow, winter

My mother's house, my father's house

Christiansen, C. P.

A young girl's parents do not live together. She spends half of the week at her mom's and the other half at her dad's. She dreams of a house she will have where she will live seven days a week.

Tags

divorce, family, feelings, goal setting, parents, self esteem, separation, stress management, travel

Khasa goes to the fiesta

Sotomayor, Antonio

Khasa goes to the Fiesta with his uncle. When the two are separated, Khasa goes through a great adventure getting back to his uncle.

Tags

adventures, assertiveness, carnival, crisis, family, feelings, instruments, lost, mexican, multicultural, music, party, sadness, separation, teeth

Left behind

Carrick, Carol

Christopher goes on a field trip with his class to an aquarium. They take the subway there, but on the way back Christopher gets pushed off the train and lost. Eventually, he finds a policeman who helps him go home.

Tags

conflict resolution, fear, loneliness, lost, separation, transportation, travel

Laney's lost momma

Hamm, Diane Johnston

Laney can't find her mom in the department store. But luckily, she and her lost mom remember exactly where to find each other.

Tags

african american, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, family, fear, feelings, goal setting, helping, lost, multicultural, obedience, parents, reunion, self esteem, separation, shopping, stress management, verbal communication

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

The good-bye book

Viorst, Judith

A little boy is angry when he finds out that his parents are going to a French restaurant without him. He tries to convince his parents to either stay home or take him along. The little boy finally says good bye to his parents when his favorite babysitter arrives.

Tags

anger, assertiveness, books, coping, death, family, feelings, food, happiness, illness, injury, nonverbal communication, parents, reading, restaurant, sadness, separation, stress management, technology, television, verbal communication

The butterfly

Polacco, Patricia

When a little girls meets a ghost which turns out to be a girl that is hiding in the cellar with the rest of her family from the Nazi's. They form a friendship that is strong. But the friendship is broken up by the sudden movement of her and her family. But butterflies show that everything is fine even though they are apart.

Tags

animals, author's note, bedtime, butterfly, decision making, family, feelings, french, hanukkah, happiness, hiding, holidays, Jewish, language, multicultural, parents, prejudice, racism, religion, sadness, self esteem, separation, stress management, verbal communication, war

Good-bye, daddy!

Weninger, Briggitte

Tom gets very upset when he must say goodbye to his father, who no longer lives with him and his mother. He gets so upset that he hides and cries, and then misses out on a hug. But his mother tells him a story of a young bear in the same situation who learns how to resolve the problem.

Tags

aggression, anger, animals, bear, conflict resolution, divorce, family, feelings, loneliness, loss, parents, sadness, separation, storytelling

All upon a stone

George, Jean Craig

A mole cricket is lonely and wants to find others. He struggles to the top of a large stone and signals the other mole crickets. In the end he discovers he was happy where he was originally.

Tags

cricket, dancing, feelings, friendship, goal setting, insects, loneliness, self esteem, separation, verbal communication

My friend harry

Lewis, Kim

James takes his new stuffed elephant, Harry, everywhere with him. Eventually, when Harry begins to become worn and his ears start to sag, James is old enough to start school. Being separated from a close companion like Harry will take a little more effort than James thinks.

Tags

animals, bath, biking, books, companion, conflict resolution, dog, elephant, exercise, family, farm, friendship, helping, hygiene, independence, love, play, pretend, reading, school, separation, support, toys, vacation, verbal communication

Now let me fly

Johnson, Dolores

A family moves from Africa to America. They suffer hardships in anticipation of a different future.

Tags

african american, assertiveness, change, coping, family, feelings, grief, moving, multicultural, parents, peer resistance, sadness, self esteem, separation, slavery, stress management, travel

Preep: The little pigeon of trafalgar square

Shulman, Milton

An odd little pigeon is taken from Trafalgar Square. All the rest of the pigeons go on strike until he is returned. Life returns to normal when the little pigeon is returned.

Tags

birds, celebration, change, chaos, coping, england, loneliness, lost, multicultural, pigeon, separation, stress management, teamwork

An ellis island christmas

Leighton, Maxine Rhea

Krysia and her family leave Poland around Christmas to meet their father, who is already living in New York. It is a long trip on land and by water, but they eventually land at Ellis Island where their father is waiting.

Tags

anticipation, boat, christmas, freedom, geography, holidays, immigrants, multicultural, polish, separation, transportation, travel

Judge rabbit and the tree spirit: A tale from cambodia

Spagnoli, Cathy

A newly married couple is separated when the husband is called to war. An evil tree spirit sees how sad the man is and decides to take his place. The spirit takes the form of the man and lives with his wife. The man returns from the war to find the spirit.

Tags

animals, cambodian, critical thinking, feelings, loss, marriage, multicultural, rabbit, sadness, separation, war, wedding

The great pig search

Christelow, Eileen

Bert and Ethel receive a post card from Florida from runaway pigs and an adventure begins. Bert wants to go to Florida to look for the pigs while Ethel wants to go on vacation. When Bert won't stop looking for the pigs, Ethel decides she wants to go home. Bert and Ethel eventually learn that the pigs were right under their noses.

Tags

adventures, animals, beach, boat, bodies of water, bus, communication, dancing, embarrassment, family, farm, feelings, fish, fishing, letters, missing, newspaper, photograph, pig, radio, separation, taxi, transportation, travel, vacation

Gordon the goat

Leaf, Munro

Gordon the goat learns to do his own thinking after a series of disasters when following the flock. Gordon questions his aimless following of the flock leader and learns about peer resistance.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, goat, illness, overeating, peer resistance, ranch, separation, stress management

Grandaddy and Janetta

Giffith, Helen V.

Janetta is going to her grandfather's house for the first time in a year. She is worried that her mother will be lonely and that her grandfather will not recognize her.

Tags

animals, cat, chicken, critical thinking, family, farm, feelings, grandparents, loneliness, love, mule, parents, separation, travel, verbal communication

Love, your bear pete

Sheldon, Dyan

Brenda loses her teddy bear, Pete, on a bus. She thinks he's gone forever, but soon starts to receive postcards from him. Pete is traveling all over the world and having many adventures. He soon realizes he misses Brenda too much and returns home.

Tags

adventures, animals, bear, coping, correspondence, exploration, friendship, homesickness, loneliness, lost, multicultural, sadness, separation, travel, vacation

The never-ending greenness

Waldman, Neil

A young boy plants trees to cope with the separation and loss he feels from his father who is at war. In doing this he single handedly turns a gloomy countryside destroyed by war back into the beautiful, alive place it once was. He also starts a holiday known today as Tu b'Shvat.

Tags

ambition, author's note, bravery, challenges, change, courage, dedication, dreams, escape, exploration, family, goal setting, hard work, hebrew, history, hope, israelian, Jewish, loss, mountains, multicultural, parents, plants, separation, war

Bill and pete to the rescue

dePaola, Tomie

Bill and Pete are best friends who leave the Nile in search for Pete's cousin, Little Jane Allison Crocodile. Little Jane has been stolen and taken to the United States. Bill and Pete get separated when Pete helps a rich lady retrieve her purse. Bill joins forces with alligators from the swamp to save cousin Jane- just as Pete escapes the rich lady!

Tags

adventures, alligator, amphibians, animals, birds, bodies of water, crime, crocodile, disappearance, escape, family, friendship, lost, parents, rescue, separation, swamp, zoo

I won't go without a father

Stanek, Muriel

Steve refuses to go to Open House night at school because he thinks his classmates will make fun of him for not having a dad. Steve is pleasantly surprised to find he is not alone.

Tags

acceptance, coping, critical thinking, differences, family, fear, feelings, friendship, neighbors, parents, school, separation, working mother

Erika's story

Vander Zee, Ruth

After being thrown from a train as a baby during the Holocaust, Erika finds safety, love, and peace in the family that saves her.

Tags

adoption, assertiveness, author's note, bravery, conflict resolution, courage, critical thinking, family, fear, feelings, germany, history, hope, identity, Jewish, loss, love, memories, multicultural, parents, prejudice, pride, rescue, sadness, self esteem, separation, storytelling, survival, train, transportation, verbal communication, war

Hidden child

Millman, Isaac

Over fifty years have passed, and Isaac finally tells his story. He is one of the few survivors of the Holocaust. Isaac experiences many tragedies during the war including losing both parents, friends, and being left to strangers, but finally, was adopted into a home. Although he changes his name, he is adopted in a home where people grow to love him.

Browse Items (33 items total)