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

Tags: storytelling

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An American story

Alexander, Kwame

An African American story is an American story of slavery, brutal conditions, struggle, and oppression. Remember the American story of hard work, pride, and strength in the fight for liberty as Black people stand up and speak out while "holding history in one hand and clenching hope in the other".

Tags

african american, body parts, bravery, culture, fairness, feelings, fight, food, future, history, hope, justice, leadership, literacy, multicultural, oppression, pride, reading, sadness, storytelling, war

How a book is made

Aliki

Turn the pages of this book to learn how an author's manuscript and the artist's pictures become a book. Publishing a book is a long hard process with many workers from editors and publishers to proofreaders and printers. Who made this book? Read about the many people and the step-by-step process for publishing a book for all to read.

Tags

art, bedtime, book, careers, cartoons, colors, five senses, library, newspaper, numbers, present, sequence, smell, spelling, storytelling, teamwork, writing

The crippled lamb

Lucado, Max

A little lamb named Joshua has one leg that doesn't work well so he always limped when he walked. His best friend, Abigail, was an old cow who encouraged Josh with her voice in a kind and friendly way. Abigail also told Josh about God who has a special place for those who feel left out. When all the other sheep are moved to a new meadow, a shepherd tells Josh to go back to the stable and spend the night. Josh gains companions when a young woman with her baby, Jesus, is born in that stable. Even shepherds come to the door to see God's son.

Tags

animals, baby, cattle, correspondence, differences, disability, faith, fear, feelings, friendship, god, royalty, sheep, storytelling, surprise

You can't be too careful

Mello, Roger

The white rose starts a series of continuous storylines with deeper and deeper meanings and more and more people and animals contributing to the creative adventure of white rose escaping from her pen.

Tags

animals, cat, colors, compass rose, correspondence, creativity, earth, family, garden, map, marriage, monkey, noise, parents, rain, storytelling, weather

Ruth and the green book

Ramsey, Calvin Alexander

Ruth and her parents drive from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandma. Along the way, they saw signs that said "White Only" where they couldn't eat in the restaurants or use the bathroom inside. Ruth's mother had food packed for the trip, and they sang songs along the way to stay happy. They also visited a friend, Eddy, in Tennessee where Eddy and Ruth's daddy played music together. When the family drove into Georgia, a man explained "The Negro Motorist Green Book" which would list places in different states that would welcome black people who were traveling. Ruth and her family learns how to use the Green Book to find places to sleep, eat, shop, and get a haircut on their travels because Jim Crow laws were unfair and discriminatory against black people. When a 'tourist home' welcomes them for free, Ruth learns that it is important to help each other and treat others like a big family. After this lesson, she gives her Brown Bear to a little boy who was traveling away from home with his mother for the very first time. Ruth said that she no longer needed Brown Bear because she was too old now, then she told his mother about buying a Green Book for her travels.

Tags

african american, anger, author's note, books, car, conversation, discrimination, family, fear, feelings, food, friendship, grandparents, happiness, instruments, law, learning, literacy, map, multicultural, music, oppression, parents, reading, signs, singing, storytelling, toy, transportation, travel

A different pond

Phi, Bao

A young boy accompanies his dad to catch fish for food before the sunrises and before other family members awake. The dad tells the bait man at the all-night store that he is starting a second job. The boy meets a Hmong man and a black man who are also fishing -- but this time, it is just the boy and his dad under the starlit sky. The boy learns to make a fire and to bait his hook and to honor the stories of his Dad as he explains how life was in Vietnam when he was a boy. When they return home, the dad and mom head to work while the boy looks after his brothers and sisters.

Tags

african american, author's note, bicycle, bodies of water, counting, feelings, fire, fishing, food, hard work, hmong, illustrator's note, language, learning, loss, morning, multicultural, photograph, pond, poverty, refugee, responsibilities, sadness, siblings, sleep, storytelling, teeth, tree, vietnamese, war, work

Magic: Once upon a faraway land

Ortega, Mirelle

Once upon a faraway land in Mexico, a young girl highlights her grandfather's pineapple farm, her mom's wool blanket weaving, and her dad's sketches for making stone buildings. She reflects on the way that magic can change things for better and for worse. She loves the beautiful music and sounds that are woven together for people to dance. She also admires her fingertips as an artist when blank pages become pictures to share with others.

Tags

author's note, body parts, careers, celebration, dancing, Day of the Dead, drawing, farm, food, fruit, games, holidays, magic, Mexico, music, party, sewing, storytelling, traditions, weather, weaving

Lily's garden of India

Smith, Jeremy

Lily's adventure through her mother's garden provides her with a discovery of plants and trees from India. Indian festivals and a glossary of plants are shared after her journey.

Tags

africa, bodies of water, body parts, celebration, clothing, Diwali, festival, france, fruit, garden, glossary, hindi, india, language, multicultural, plants, river, storytelling, symbols, temple, tree

No one else like you

Goeminne, Siska

There are seven billion people living in this world. Each person is different and uniquely original. See all the ways that people can move, act, do and be. People come in different colors, shapes, and sizes, and they wear a variety of clothing and feel a variety of emotions. People believe in different things. Not one of them is just like you.

Tags

animals, beliefs, binoculars, body parts, cat, clothing, dog, family, fear, feelings, god, happiness, jumping, love, night, numbers, population, running, sadness, santa, siblings, singing, storytelling, swimming, technology, telephone, television, uniqueness, walking

The talk

Williams, Alicia D.

Jay has many favorite things he likes to do with his friends and family. His mom measures him as he grows inch-by-inch which means he can do more and more as he gets older and older. Although his feet don't reach the gas pedal of his Daddy's car, he can skateboard up and down the street and and do flips with many friends. Jay's grandpa tells his grandchildren not to crowd in groups of four or more - which is only one of many unfortunate realities of African American families and parents when they have to say, "Jay, its time we had a talk" about racism.

Fry bread: A Native American family story

Maillard, Kevin Noble

Children help a Native American grandmother make fry bread while learning about the history, social ways, food, art, and politics of America's 573 recognized Indian tribes.

Tags

america, art, author's note, baking, colors, diversity, family, five senses, food, friendship, geography, heritage, history, native american, nutrition, preparation, recipe, sounds, storytelling, variety

The phone booth in Mr. Hirota's garden

Smith, Heather

Makio and his neighbor, Mr. Hirota, loved looking out at the ocean every morning while watching Makio’s father and Mr. Hirota’s daughter working. One day, a tsunami came and killed their family members, prompting Mr. Hirota to build a telephone booth as a way to cope with his grief. Soon after, Makio and Mr. Hirota began speaking into a disconnected telephone while communicating with the loved ones they lost.

Tags

bodies of water, community, companion, construction, death, earthquake, feelings, games, grief, loss, ocean, onomatopoeia, respect, sadness, sea, storytelling, technology, telephone, wish

Lola loves stories

McQuinn, Anna

Lola and her dad go to the library on Saturdays to pick out books to read during the week. Every time Lola reads a book, she acts it out the next day. If she reads about building, she becomes a builder. If Lola reads a book about fairies, she becomes a fairy. What will Lola be next?

Tags

acting, african american, animals, baby, bedtime, books, buildings, clothing, companion, cow, creativity, Days of The Week, family, imagination, library, love, multicultural, parents, reading, relationship, routine, royalty, shoes, storytelling, tiger, tools, travel, wilderness

The key from Spain: Flory Jagoda and her music

Levy, Debbie

Just as her ancestors were forced to leave Spain during the Inquisition, Flory flees Europe for a new life in the United States, bringing with her a precious harmonica and a passion for Ladino music.

Tags

american, Bosnian, christians, Croatian, dancing, generations, gymnastics, history, instruments, Jewish, ladino, language, multicultural, music, muslim, neighbors, numbers, prayers, pretend, refugee, sewing, ship, singing, song, spain, storytelling, time, train, transportation, war

Going down home with daddy

Lyons, Kelly Starling

Alan looks forward to the annual family reunion at the farm where Daddy grew up, but everyone is suppose to share something special and Alan worries about arriving with empty hands.

Tags

car, celebration, family, feelings, geography, instruments, music, performance, reading, reunion, sharing, sleep, storytelling, tractor, travel, worry

All different now: Juneteenth, the first day of freedom

Johnson, Angela

A young girl wakes up on what she believes to be a normal day, working with her family to complete the daily tasks of her work as a slave. Then, everyone is told that slavery has been abolished and that now they are finally free people. The young girl celebrates with her family and community, excited by the prospects of what their future, independent life will bring.

Tags

author's note, bodies of water, celebration, community, depression, discrimination, farm, five senses, freedom, illustrator's note, ocean, picnic, prejudice, racism, slavery, storytelling, vocabulary

My tooth is about to fall out

Maccarone, Grace

A little girl describes her wiggly tooth and all the places where she doesn't want it to fall out. Then, while she is eating spaghetti, the tooth falls into her bowl and a giant hole is left in her mouth. That night, she places the tooth that fell out under her pillow, and the Tooth Fairy leaves her a nice little surprise for her in the morning!

Tags

accomplishment, appearance, behavior, body parts, conflict resolution, decision making, excitement, growing up, loss, missing, nonverbal communication, patience, storytelling, surprises, teeth, tooth fairy, verbal communication

Vegetable dreams

Jeffers, Dawn

Erin dreams about having a garden. Her parents allow her to share a garden with her neighbor, Mr. Martinez. Erin cares for her garden everyday and enjoys eating and canning the fresh food with her family. She learns that she loves learning and the friendship developed with Mr. Martinez more than the vegetables themselves.

The third gift

Park, Linda Sue

A young boy learns his father's trade by observing the use and importance of resin from certain trees. One day becomes an important day for the family - and especially for the young boy - when they exchange tears with three merchants who are off to see an important baby.

Tags

author's note, baby, careers, collection, counting, culture, desert, family, history, market, multicultural, nonverbal communication, parents, plants, presents, storytelling, travel, tree, verbal communication

Big momma makes the world

Root, Phyllis

As each day goes by, Big Momma continues to make the world a better place with a little baby by her side. She is the boss of the world and never will mess around.

Tags

animals, birds, bodies of water, culture, days of week, earth, fish, fruit, garden, god, light, moon, numbers, parents, stars, storytelling, sun, tree

Singing with Momma Lou

Altman, Linda, Jacobs

Tamika does not enjoy visiting Momma Lou, her grandmother. Momma Lou has Alzheimer's, and she cannot remember Tamika. When Tamika reminds her about the friendship she used to have with Momma Lou, she decides to bring in pictures to re-create the memories. Tamika and her family celebrate Momma's Civil Rights victories, despite the sadness of her disease.

Tags

alzheimer's disease, multigenerational, storytelling

Who will I be, Lord?

Nelson, Vaunda Michaeaux

A young girls outlines the careers and callings of her family members. She questions the Lord on what she will become. As she realizes that her family dreams of being more than anything they are now, she then understands that she can be anything she wants to be, because it is up to her.

Tags

careers, church, dreams, family, god, investigation, music, radio, reasoning, rules, storytelling, talent, technology, television

Things that sometimes happen

Avi

This collection of short stories are exaggerated to intrigue your imagination. The stories are full of odd events involving animals, traveling, and much more.

Aunt Claire's yellow beehive hair

Blumenthal, Deborah

Annie, Grandma Marilyn, and Great Aunt Ruth search through family memorabilia as they put together an album to show to their family. While scrapbooking the many memories, Grandma Marilyn and Great Aunt Ruth share stories about makeup, clothing, jewelery, hairdos, and food. Annie learns all about the relatives she never met.

Sister Anne's hands

Lorbiecki, Mary Beth

Anna begins her second year of school in the early '60's. Her new teacher, Sister Anne, is different from other teachers because she has a different skin color. She inspires students all around her and overcomes challenges. Students learn what respect and tolerance are, and everyone learns from one another.

Tags

acceptance, african american, appearance, art, beach, bedtime, body parts, challenges, change, colors, community, counting, differences, discrimination, diversity, garden, god, history, learning, library, map, memories, moving, multicultural, numbers, prejudice, racism, religion, rhythm, school, singing, stereotypes, storytelling, teaching

Jitterbug jam

Hicks, Barbara Jean

Jitterbug Jam is about a young monster who is afraid to deal with the scary boy under his bed! After a helpful story and piece of advice from his grandpa, or Boo-Dad, the little monster is brave enough to go under his bed, and later decides to make a friend.

Tags

assertiveness, conflict resolution, decision making, family, fantasy, fear, feelings, friendship, grandparents, monsters, parents, sharing, storytelling

One candle

Bunting, Eve

A Jewish family spends Hanukkah that same way every year. Traditions are passed from generation to generation. After a family meal, grandma and great-aunt Rose tell their story. One very special candle is lit in honor of their memories.

Tags

family, feelings, food, generations, grandparents, hanukkah, history, holidays, Jewish, language, memories, multicultural, nutrition, parents, prayer, sadness, siblings, stars, storytelling

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

Big jabe

Nolan, Jerdine

Momma Mary goes back in time and tells stories of a unique young man named Jabe, who is responsible for creating magic among the slaves of the Plenty Plantation. He is described as a hero with the strength of fifty men, a big heart, and a wondrous gift at leading slaves away to freedom.

Tags

african, african american, animals, bee, chicken, cow, fable, fantasy, feelings, fish, fishing, flood, food, freedom, generations, happiness, heroism, horse, hunger, magic, multicultural, mystery, nonverbal communication, plants, recreation, river, slavery, storytelling, tornado, tree, uniqueness, unselfish, weather, wind

Hip, hug, hooray!

Tangvald, Christine

Do you know how many types of hugs there are? Look and learn how hugs are imporatant everywhere and everyday.

Tags

activities, affection, animals, baby, bath, beach, bedtime, birds, birthday, books, caring, celebration, church, cleanliness, climbing, dog, family, feelings, food, friendship, glasses, god, grandparents, happiness, hygiene, lake, library, love, night, parents, party, picnic, playground, rabbit, rain, reading, religion, sand, seasons, sheep, snow, soccer, sports, squirrel, storytelling, summer, swimming, tree, umbrella, weather, winter

Three days on a river in a red canoe

Williams, Vera B

A boy and his brother Sam take a canoe trip with their mother and aunt and engage in a variety of adventurous activities along the way.

Tags

birds, boat, bodies of water, camping, car, cat, family, fire, fish, fishing, fog, food, heron, island, listening, maps, moose, morning, mosquito, preparation, rainbow, recipe, recreation, rescue, river, safety, shelter, shopping, sky, sleep, stars, storytelling, sun, swimming, travel, water, weather

Sergio and the hurricane

Wallner, Alexandra

A young boyﾒs family prepares for a hurricane in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At first, Sergio is excited, but after a whole day of getting ready for the storm, he falls asleep exhausted. The hurricane hits in the middle of the night so Sergio joins his parents in their bed, Papa tells him a story to ease his fears. For many weeks after the storm, the San Juan community clears the damage left by the wind and flooding. When school resumes, Sergioﾒs teacher gives a science lesson on hurricanes.

Tags

author's note, beach, bedtime, cleanliness, community, destruction, family, fear, feelings, flood, hurricane, maps, parents, plants, preparation, puerto rico, radio, safety, school, shopping, storm, storytelling, technology, television, tree, water, writing

Zen shorts

Muth, Jon

One day, three young children meet a panda after his umbrella lands in their yard. The children become friends with the panda, whose name is Stillwater. He passes on folktales to them to help them solve problems they are having.

Lucy's quiet book

Medearis, Angela Shelf

An annoyed Lucy decides to go the library to get away from her brothers. The librarian gives her a book to quiet her brothers down. Once Lucy begins to read to her brothers, they quiet down and Lucy learns the positive effects of books.

Beyond turkey

Herman, Debbie // Koffsky, Ann D.

Almost 400 years ago, pilgrims traveled to North America. They met and befriended the Indians of the area. The different cultures came together to prepare a harvest and a celebration. This celebration became known as Thanksgiving.

Can you find it?

Cressy, Judith

Go on an adventure around the world to many exciting places. Search through each painting for many objects. Create your own stories and imagine what life was like in each place.

Chipper's choices

Boegehold, Betty

Chipper makes up five stories, riddles, and songs for his friends so they can have something to do when the winter season comes.

Tags

assertiveness, conflict resolution, critical thinking, differences, fear, friendship, imagination, individuality, recreation, seasons, self esteem, song, storytelling, winter

Hosni the dreamer: An arabian tale

Ben-Ezer, Ehud

Hosni is a shepherd who spends his days telling stories to his sheep and his nights dreaming about the city. When he finally has the opportunity to travel to the city, his life changes. He hears some special words of wisdom from a wise old man.

Tags

adventures, animals, arab, bodies of water, camel, change, critical thinking, culture, death, decision making, desert, dreams, excitement, fear, feelings, folktale, food, love, marriage, money, mountains, multicultural, night, nutrition, peer resistance, rain, river, sadness, sheep, storytelling, travel, verbal communication, weather

It was a dark and stormy night

Ahlberg, Janet//Ahlberg, Allan

An eight-year-old boy named Antonio is kidnapped by thieves. The chief orders Antonio to tell a story, which he cleverly uses for his escape. His story includes all sorts of adventures.

Tags

adventures, animals, bear, courage, critical thinking, deception, escape, imagination, storytelling, verbal communication

Nicky and the big, bad wolves

Gorbachev, Valeri

Little Nicky is having a bad dream when his cries for help wake everyone up. After telling his mom about the dream, Nicky realizes it wasn't as bad as it seemed. He scared his brothers and sisters though, so mom has to go outside and pretend to get rid of the scary wolves so everyone can sleep.

Tags

animals, caring, counting, dreams, family, fear, feelings, night, numbers, parents, pretend, rabbit, siblings, sleep, storytelling, verbal communication, wolf

When grandma almost fell off the mountain and other stories

Porte, Barbara Ann

Grandma tells stories to her grandchildren of a car trip to Florida she took with her family and grandparents when she was younger. Her vacations were usually filled with exciting adventures and amusing mishaps.

Tags

adventures, car, conflict resolution, critical thinking, family, grandparents, storytelling, transportation, travel, vacation, verbal communication

Little fox goes to the end of the world

Tompert, Ann

Little fox tells his mother about traveling to the end of the world. He tells elaborate stories of the things he encounters. At the end, he tells his mother that he misses her and comes straight home.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, change, coping, decision making, family, feelings, fox, loss, nonverbal communication, parents, storytelling, travel, verbal communication

Treasure nap

Havill, Juanita

On an afternoon when it is too hot to sleep, a young girl asks to hear a story. The story is about her great-grandmother who comes to the U.S. from Mexico, bringing a special treasure.

Tags

birds, critical thinking, family, grandparents, mexican, multicultural, music, nonverbal communication, parrot, self esteem, sleep, storytelling, travel

Let's dance

Ancona, George

Children from all backgrounds move and dance to different rhythms of their culture. Dances range from tap to folk dances and from Native American dance to Tibetan dance. There are many forms, types, and styles of dance a person can do to express their emotions. There are different dances for men, women, animals, and puppets too!

Tags

acrobat, afghani, african american, american, appalachian, body parts, celebration, child care, chinese, clothing, congo, creativity, culture, dancing, england, feelings, greek, india, indian, instruments, jumping, korean, mexican, moving, multicultural, native american, nature, puppets, relationship, rhythm, sadness, scottish, singing, spain, storytelling, turkish, yak

In the time of the drums

Siegelson, Kim L.

Mentu and Twi tell the story of an African family newly arrived in the Americas. Twi never gives up on returning to her native Africa. Twi tells stories of cooking, planting, music and dancing from her native land.

Tags

african, african american, bodies of water, community, creek, culture, escape, farm, feelings, five senses, folktale, freedom, generations, grandparents, history, home, instruments, island, language, magic, music, mythical, relationship, repetition, rhythm, sadness, secrets, ship, slavery, song, sounds, storytelling, transportation

Grandpa's face

Greenfield, Eloise

Tamika loves spending time with her Grandfather. They enjoy walking, talking, and going to theatre together. One day, Tamika gets afraid while watching her Grandfather rehearse for a play. Tamika learns about different emotions, and especially that her Grandfather will always love her.

Tags

actor, african american, aging, anger, body parts, books, communication, creativity, exercise, family, fear, feelings, food, friendship, generations, glasses, grandparents, imagination, love, nonverbal communication, nutrition, parents, relationship, storytelling, theatre, tree, walking, worry

Up home

Grant, Shauntay

A young woman of African decent recalls her childhood in her native homeland of Preston, Canada. She remembers long hot days of summer playing with cousins, singing on Sunday mornings, climbing trees and picking blueberries. Gatherings with her family are special celebrations.

Tags

african american, body parts, canada, celebration, church, climbing, clothing, cooking, family, flowers, food, friendship, fun, garden, glasses, grandparents, history, instruments, love, memory, multicultural, music, nutrition, park, quilt, seasons, song, spiritual, storytelling, woods

The magician and McTree

Coombs, Patricia

An old magician accidentally creates a potion that makes his cat, McTree, talk. Although he is supposed to keep his new talent a secret, McTree ends up a famous attraction at the palace. But when McTree loses his appeal, the King and Queen order the old magician to be kidnapped so he can make all of the castle pets to talk. McTree must use his sense to outwit the royal party and save his old companion.

Tags

animals, birds, cat, dog, fame, fish, forest, friendship, greed, guilt, heroism, insects, kidnapped, magic, medicine, moth, pig, royalty, secrets, song, speech, storytelling, trick

The man who called the crocodiles

Mashiri, Pascal

Gyiii-eee! This is the sound that calls a crocodile. In this land, the wealthy king takes Lulaba as his new wife. She eventually has Gobango as her only son. She tells Gobango of stories about her father calling crocodiles. Eventually Gobango has to flee from his mom or the dead kingﾒs enemies will kill him. He flees to meet Lulabaﾒs father, his grandfather. He goes on a fishing trip and meets one of the fishermanﾒs beautiful daughters, Nanjobe. Gobango asks her father if he can marry her. He says no because he isnﾒt rich enough to take care of his daughter. Therefore, he works to raise money for her. Six months later, Nanjobe is to marry an old man. Gobango and Nanjobe both hate this idea and flee to Gobangoﾒs boat. Nanjobeﾒs father sends people after the two, so Gobango calls the crocodiles, Gyiii-eee. Crocodiles surround their boat. The rest of the people search for the lovers and assuming they are dead, take their boats back to the village.

Mzimba and the crowned cranes

Mashiri, Pascal

Chief Mzimba was very old, but he still had magical powers. He used his magic on the animals. Sometimes it helped the animals, sometimes it didn’t. What does Mzimba have to learn about giving gifts?

Tags

africa, animals, birds, crane, elephant, folktale, glossary, kenyan, magic, multicultural, storytelling, vulture

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