101 Picture Books That Promote
101 Picture Books that Promote
Unitarian Universalist Values
Compiled by Scott Talbot Lewis
Ada, Alma Flor. Jordi's Star. New York: Putnam. 1996. (0399228322)
A lonely shepherd sees a star floating on the surface of a small pond and
convinced that the star is really in the water, tries to make the mountain
beautiful for its new resident.
Allison, Beverley. Effie. New York: Scholastic, 1990. (0590440454)
When Effie the ant's loud voice saves the day, the other insects learn to
appreciate her unique gift.
Archambault, John. Grandmother's Garden. Parsippany, NJ: Silver Press, 1997.
This story-poem celebrates the magnificence and commonality of life in all its
diversity as flowers and children grow in Grandma Rose's garden.
Anholt, Laurence. The Forgotten Forest. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books for
Children. 1992. (0871565692)
The vast forests of a country are all cut down to make room for development,
until finally only one small wooded area remains like an island in the endless
noisy sea of the city.
Asch, Frank. The Earth and I. San Diego: Gulliver Books, 1994. (0152004432)
A child explains how he and the Earth dance and sing together and take turns
listening to each other.
Bang, Molly. When Sophie Gets Angry…Really, Really Angry. New York: Blue Sky
Press. 1999. (0590189784)
A young girl is upset and manages her anger by taking the time to cool off and
gain her composure.
Baylor, Byrd. The Other Way to Listen. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1978.
(068416017X)
After hoping and trying, the narrator is finally able to hear the hills singing,
[the way her friend, the old man has taught her.]
Bonning, Tony. Fox Tale Soup. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. (0689849001)
A clever re-telling of "Stone Soup" features farm animals and a clever, but benign fox. *
Bradby, Marie. More Than Anything Else. New York: Orchard Books, 1995.
(0531094642)
Nine-year-old Booker [T. Washington] works with his father and brother at the
saltworks, but dreams of the day when he'll be able to read.
Brisson, Pat. The Summer My Father Was Ten. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mill Press,
1998. (1563974355)
A father tells his son the story of how he damaged a neighbor's tomato garden
when he was a boy and what he did to make amends.
Bunting, Eve. I Have an Olive Tree. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. (0060275731)
After her grandfather's death, eight-year-old Sophia fulfills his last request
and journey's to Greece with her mother to see the land where her roots are.
Burningham, John. Whaddayamean. New York: Crown Publishing, Inc., 1999.
(0517800667)
When God sees the mess that has been made of the world, God gets two children to
convince everyone to help make it the lovely place it was meant to be.
Camp, Lindsay. Why? New York: Putnam, 1998. (0399233962)
Lily's continual questioning sometimes annoys her father, but one day it proves
very useful.
Carlson, Nancy. I Like Me!. New York: Penguin Group, 1988. (0670820628)
By admiring her finer points and showing that she can take care of herself and
have fun even when there's no one else around, a charming pig prove the best
friend you can have is yourself.
Carlson, Nancy. Smile a Lot! Minneapolis MN: Lerner Publishing Group, 2002.
(0876148690)
A frog explains how smiling is a great way to get through life's ups and downs.
Caseley, Judith. Harry and Willy and Carrothead. New York: Greenwillow Books,
199. (0688094929)
Three boys overcome prejudicial ideas about appearances and become friends.
Crebbin, June. Danny's Duck. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1995.
(1564025365)
Danny regularly visits a mother duck and her nest near his school playground,
and then one day something wonderful happens.
Cronin, Doreen. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. New York: Simon & Schuster,
2000. (0689832133)
When Farmer Brown's cows find a typewriter in the barn they start making demands
and go on strike when the farmer refuses to give them what they want.
de Paola, Tomie. Oliver Button Is a Sissy. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
Publishers, 1979. (0152578528)
His classmate's taunts don't stop Oliver Button from doing what he likes doing
best.
Dotlich, Rebecca Kai. A Family Like Yours. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mill Press.
2002. (1563979160)
The diversity of human & animal families is celebrated in this rollicking verse.
^
Dunrea, Olivier. Gossie & Gertie. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.
(0618176764)
Gossie and Gertie are best friends and everywhere Gossie goes, Gertie goes too –
except when she doesn't and sometimes that's even better.
Ehlert, Lois. In My World. San Diego: Harcourt Inc., 2002. (0152162690)
Describes some of the many things in the natural world- such as worms,
seashells, flowers, and stars – that a [even the youngest] child can appreciate.
Fleischman, Paul. Weslandia. Cambridge MA: Candlewick Press, 1999.
Wesley's garden produces a crop of huge, strange plants which provide him with
clothing, shelter, food, and drink, thus helping him create his own civilization
and changing his life.
Fleming, Denise. Where Once There Was a Wood. New York: Henry Holt and
Company, 1996. (0805037616)
Examines the many forms of wildlife that can be displaced if their environment
is destroyed by development.
Fox, Mem. Whoever You Are. San Diego: Harcourt Brace. 1997. (0152007873)
Despite the differences between people around the world, there are similarities
there are similarities that join us together, such as pain, joy, and love.
Fox, Mem. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. Brooklyn New York: Kane/Miller
Book Publishers. 1985. (0916291049)
A small boy tries to discover the meaning of "memory" so he can restore that of
an elderly friend.
Friedman, Ina R. How My Parents Learned to Eat. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin
Company, 1984. (0395353793)
An American Sailor courts a Japanese girl and each tries, in secret, to learn
the other's way of eating.
Gray, Libba Moore. Miss Tizzy. New York: Simon & Schuster. 1993. (0671775901)
The eccentric Miss Tizzy, a beloved friend of all the children in her
neighborhood, needs their help in remaining happy when she is sick in bed.
Guthrie, Woody. This Land is Your Land. Boston: Little Brown, 1998. (0316392154)
This well-known folk-song is illustrated with painting in the "American
Primitive" style by Kathy Jakobsen and includes biographical information and
photographs.
Hamanaka, Sheila. Grandparents Song. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. (0688178529)
A rhyming celebration of ancestry and of the diversity that flourishes in this
country.
Henkes, Kevin. Wemberly Worried. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2000.
(0688170277)
A mouse named Wemberly, who worries about everything, finds that she has a whole
list of things to worry about when she faces the first day of nursery school.
Hoffman, Mary. Amazing Grace. New York: Dial, 1991. (0803710402)
Although classmates tell her she cannot play Peter Pan in the school play
because she is black and a girl, Grace discovers that she can do anything she
sets her mind to do.
Hooks, Bell. Homemade Love. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2002.
(0787686435)
"Girlpie" grows strong, confident, realistic, and independent with the guidance
of her two loving parents! Shane W. Evans illustrations capture a young girls
joy in life
Johnson, Angela. Down a Winding Road. New York: D. K. Ink, 2000. (0789425963)
The annual summer visit to the county home of the Old Ones, the uncles and aunts
who raised Daddy, brings joy and good times.
Johnson, D. B. Henry Builds a Cabin. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.
(0618132015)
Young Henry Thoreau appears frugal to his friends as he sets about building a
cabin. Includes biographical information about Thoreau.
Johnson, D. B. Henry Hikes to Fitchburg. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,
2000. (0395968674)
While his friend works hard to earn the train fare to Fitchburg, young Henry
[Thoreau] walks the thirty miles through woods and fields, enjoying nature.
Johnson, James Weldon. Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing. New York: Scholastic, 1995.
(05904698270)
An illustrated version of the song that has come to be considered the
African-American national anthem.
Kasza, Keiko. A Mother for Choco. New York: G. P. Putnam, 1992. (0399218416)
A lonely little bird name Choco goes in search of a mother.
Keller, Holly. Island Baby. New York: Greenwillow Press, 1992. (0688105793)
Pops, a man who runs a bird hospital on an island, and his young helper Simon
nurse an injured bird back to health.
Kent, Jack. The Caterpillar and the Polliwog. New York: Simon & Schuster inc.,
1982. (0671662805)
Impressed by the proud caterpillar's boast that she will turn into a butterfly
when she grows up, polliwog determines to watch the caterpillar very carefully
and turn into a butterfly too.
Kimmel, Eric A. Gershon's Monster: A Story of the Jewish New Year. New York:
Scholastic, 2000. (043910839X)
When his sins threaten the lives of his beloved twin children, a Jewish man
finally repents of his wicked ways. Retelling of a Hasidic legend featuring
Rabbi Israel Ben Elieser.
Kirk, Daniel. Bigger. New York: Putnam, 1998. (0399231277)
A little boy tells about how he began to grow [in his mother's womb] even before
he was born, and now as he continues to get bigger and bigger so does his world.
Kushner, Lawrence & Karen Kushner. Because Nothing Looks Like God. Woodstock,
VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2000. (158023092X)
"Where is God?" "What does God look like?" and "How does God make things
happen?" are the questions answered in this simple, poetic text. *
Lionni, Leo. It's Mine! New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1985. (039487000X)
Three selfish Frogs quarrel over who owns the pond and island, until a storm
makes them value the benefits of sharing.
Locker, Thomas. Water Dance. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1997. (0152012842)
Water speaks of its existence in such forms as storm clouds, mist, rainbows and
rivers. Includes factual information on the water cycle.
Lorbiecki, Marybeth. Sister Anne's Hands. New York: Dial Books for Young
Readers, 1998. (0803720386)
Seven year old Anna has her first encounter with racism in the 1960's when an
African-American nun comes to teach at her parochial school.
Lucado, Max. You Are Special. Wheaton, IL: Crossways Books, 1997. (0891079319)
[In this theist parable,] Punchinello's opinion of himself changes after talking
to his creator.
Lyon, George Ella, Who came Down That Road? New York: Orchard Books: 1992.
(0531059871)
Mother and child ponder the past in discussing who might have traveled down an
old, old, road, looking backwards from pioneer settlers all the way to
prehistoric animals [and beyond].
McCain, Becky Ray. Nobody Knew What to Do: A Story about Bullying. Morton
Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company, 2001. (0807557110)
When bullies pick on a boy at school, a classmate is afraid, but decides that he
must do something.
McGill, Alice. Molly Bannaky. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1999.
(039572287X)
Relates how Benjamin Baneker's grandmother journeyed from England to Maryland in
the late seventeenth century, worked as an indentured servant, began a farm of
her own and married a freed slave.
McKee, David. Elmer. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1968. (0688091717)
All the elephants of the jungle were gray except Elmer, who was a patchwork of
brilliant colors until the day he got tired of being different and making the
others elephants laugh.
McKissack, Patricia C. The Honest-to-Goodness Truth. New York: Atheneum Books,
2000. (0689826680)
After promising never to lie, Libby learns it's not always necessary to blurt
out the whole truth either.
McLerran, Alice. The Mountain that Loved a Bird. New York: Simon & Schuster,
1985. (0887080006)
A beautiful bird brings life to a lonely, barren mountain.
McPhail, David. The Teddy Bear. New York: Henry Holt and Co. 2002. (0805064141)
A teddy bear lost by a little boy who loves him, still feels loved after being
rescued by a homeless man.
Martin, Bill Jr. & John Archambault. Listen to the Rain. New York: Henry Holt &
Company, 1988. (0805006826)
Describes the changing sounds of the rain, the slow soft sprinkle, the drip-drop
tinkle, the sounding pounding roaring rain, and the fresh wet silence after-time
of rain.
Maloney, Peter. His Mother's Nose. New York: Dial, 2001.
A young boy is told that he has his mother's nose, his sister's eyes, his
uncle's head for numbers, and other traits from different family members, but he
comes to realize that there is nobody quite like him.
Meddaugh, Susan. Tree of Birds. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.
(0395531470)
The many friends of a wounded tropical bird Harry adopts refuse to fly south
without their companion and take up residence in the tree outside Harry's
bedroom window, refusing to budge even as the first snowstorm of the season
approaches.
Medina, Tony. Christmas Makes Me Think. New York: Lee & Low Books, Inc., 2001.
(1584300248)
A Young African American boy reflects on the spirit of Christmas and thinks of
ways he can share what he has with other.
Merrill, Jean & Ronni Solbert. The Elephant Who Liked to Smash Small Cars. New
York: Pantheon, 1967. (916379)
An elephant enjoys smashing small cars, but learns to cooperate when faced with
the prospect of being smashed himself. *
Miller, Phillip J. & Sheppard M. Green. We all Sing with the Same Voice. New
York: HarperCollins, 2001. (0060274751)
This joyful Sesame Street song embraces the notion that no matter where children
live, what they look like, or what they do, they're all the same where it counts
- - at heart.
Mitchell, Lori. Different Just Like Me. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing,
1999. (0881069752)
While preparing for a visit to her grandmother, a young girl notices that…
people who are different from one another also share similarities, and it's okay
to like them all the same.
Muth, John J. The Three Questions: Based on a Story by Leo Tolstoy. New York:
Scholastic Press, 2002. (0439199964)
Nikolai asks his animal friends to help him answer three questions: "When is the
best time to do things?" "Who is the most important?" and "What is the right
thing to do?"
Nikola-Lisa, W. Bein' With You this Way. New York: Lee & Low Books, Inc., 1994.
(1880000059)
A chanting rhyme emphasizes the "perfectly, remarkably, strange" differences
among a group of friends on the playground! *
Oberman, Sheldon. The Always Prayer Shawl. Honesdale, PA: Caroline House, 1994.
(1878093223)
A payer shawl is handed down from grandfather to grandson in this story of
Jewish tradition and the passage of generations.
Pak, Soyung, A Place to Grow. New York: Scholastic Press. 2002. (0439130158)
An immigrant father uses the plants in their garden as a metaphor when he
explains to his daughter why they left their home in Asia. *
Pinkney, Sandra L. Shades of Black: a Celebration of Our Children. New York:
Scholastic, Inc., 1999. (043148928)
Skin tone, eye color, and the texture of their hair are all things that make the
children portrayed "unique." *
Polacco, Patricia. Chicken Sunday. New York: Philomel Books, 1992. (0399221336)
To thank old Eula for her wonderful Sunday chicken dinners the children decorate
eggs and buy her a beautiful Easter hat.
Perkins, Lynne Rae. Home Lovely. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1995.
(0688136877)
Hoping for trees or a flower garden, Tiffany transplants and cares for some
seedlings that she finds and is surprised by what they become.
Pow, Tom. Who is the World for? Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2000.
(0763612804)
When asked by their young, various animal parents describe the world from their
own perspective – as does a father to his young son.
Psalm Twenty-Three illustrated by Tim Ladwig. New York: African American Family
Press, 1993. (1569770255)
Illlustrates the well know psalm with picture of an African American brother and
sister living in a dangerous inter-city neighborhood. *
Rappaport, Doreen. Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
New York: Hyperion, 2001. (0786807148)
Appropriate quotations from Dr. King are interspersed with the story of his
remarkable life and tragic death. The compelling illustrations are by Bryan
Collier. *
Ray, Mary Lyn. Mud. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1996. (015256263x)
As Winter melts away the frozen earth turns into magnificent mud.
Rotner, Shelley & Sheila Kelly. Feeling Thankful. Brookfield CT: The Millbrook
Press, 2000. (0761319182)
Through words and pictures children are provided with gentle prompting to help
them reflect on the things for which they are thankful.
Rosen, Michael J. Elijah's Angel: a Story of Chanukah and Christmas. San Diego:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992. (0152253947)
At Christmas-Chanukah time, a Christian woodcarver gives a carved angel to a
young Jewish friend, who struggles with accepting the Christmas gift until her
realizes that friendship means the same thing in any religion.
Rogow, Zack. Oranges. New York: Orchard Books, 1988. (0531057437)
Describes the long journey and the combined labor of many people that it takes
to bring a single orange from the tree to the table.
Root, Phyllis. Big Momma Makes the World. Cambridge MA: Candlewick Press, 2002.
(0763611328)
Big Momma with a baby on her hip and laundry piling up, makes the world and
everything in it, and at the end of the sixth day, tells the people she has made
they must take care of her creation.
Rosen, Michael J. This is Our House. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1996.
(1564028704)
George won't let the other children into his cardboard box house, but when the
tables are turned, he finds out how it feels to be excluded.
Sadler, Marilyn. Elizabeth and Larry. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990.
(0671691899)
Elizabeth and Larry are content best friends until Larry is scorned by neighbors
for being an alligator.