“That’s Mine!” “I was playing with that!” These might be a couple of your toddler’s favorite catch phrases at the moment. The idea of letting someone else play with their toy is hard for toddlers to understand. We wanted to find books that explain that sharing can actually be fun or at least keep them out of the naughty corner. A lot of these books explain that sharing can actually double the amount of fun because when they share their toys, other kids will be more likely to share with them in return.
10. Llama Llama Time to Share
Llama is not happy when her mama invites the new neighbors over to hang out. Nelly Gnu and her little brother makes themselves right at home and start playing with all of Llama’s toys. Nelly starts to play with Llamas favorite toy, fuzzy llama. They both start to pull on an arm until finally the arm comes right off. Luckily mama knows how to fix it At the end of the day Llama made a new friend and she learned that it is better to share than to have a broken toy.
9. Norris The Bear Who Shared
Norris The Bear Who Shared takes a unique approach to showing children how to share. This story follows a bear that is waiting for the last fruit to ripen and fall out of the tree, so he can eat it. Much to the bears surprise there are two other animals waiting as well. Once the fruit is ready the bear does catch it, but he decides to share so he can make new friends. This story will teach children patience as well as how to be a good friend.
8. Should I Share My Ice Cream?
Elephant has a hard choice to make. Should he share his ice cream with his best friend Piggie or not? He contemplates this decision during the course of the book and once he makes his decision he ends up dropping it. He is so upset but much to his surprise Piggie walks up with some ice cream of her own. Piggie ends up sharing the ice cream because Elephant was going to be kind and share his with her. This book will show children that if they are kind to others, others will be kind to them in return.
7. Emily’s Sharing and Caring Book
Emily’s Sharing and Caring book is all about learning proper etiquette when it comes to sharing with friends. Kids will learn that sharing is caring and it can make someone’s day. This is a very funny book that will have your kids laughing while they are learning at the same time. The pictures are bright and colorful which kids are sure to love.
6. Sharing Time
Sharing Time is a very cute story that teaches kids that sharing can mean double the fun. This is a good read for little kids that don’t quite understand why they need to share with others. It shows kids that sharing makes other people happy which will make them happy as well. This book explains that there are a few different choices when it comes to sharing toys. Those choices are, everyone plays with the toy together, everyone can have a turn, or everyone can wait for another time. The author, Elizabeth Verdick knows that sharing can be tough, so she points out where to turn when it becomes hard to share with other people.
5. I Can Share!
I Can Share is an adorable book about the importance of sharing. There aren’t very many words on a page which makes it perfect for young kids. Each page introduces a different problem about sharing and then different characters will introduce a solution to the problem. It’s a good way to teach kids how to find their own solution when a problem arises. Its short and gets right to the lesson that sharing is more fun than being selfish and playing alone.
4. The Boy Who Wouldn’t Share
The Boy Who Wouldn’t Share is a fun rhyming book about a little boy named Edward. He had so many toys but wouldn’t share any of them with his little sister Claire. During this story you see him pile up all of the toys, so she couldn’t touch any of them. Their mom comes in the room with some delicious fudge, but she couldn’t see Edward hiding is the pile of toys, so she gave it all to Claire. Edward was stuck but Claire decided to be nice and help him out and shard the fudge with him and suddenly he had a change of heart. He learned that it is nice to share his toys with Claire so that she will share stuff with him in return.
3. Pie Is for Sharing
Pie Is for Sharing is a stunning book written by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard and illustrated by Jason Chin. In the beginning of the book you see a group of people cutting up a pie to all share together. Throughout the day you see them share a book, a ball, and a of course the nature surrounding them. Nature is always the best when it is shared with others. By the end of the story they share a blanket to watch fireworks together and of course they have another pie to enjoy. There aren’t many words in this book which is perfect because the pictures are very beautiful to look at and they will show how happy these children are sharing all of their things throughout the day.
2. Groovy Joe: Ice Cream & Dinosaurs
Groovy Joe has a delicious bowl of doggy ice cream which tastes so good it makes him sing. Next thing you know a dinosaur bursts into the room and grabs a spoon and starts to eat some ice cream. Groovy Joe knows that it’s important to share so he lets the dinosaur eat. Next thing you know they both start to sing about how much they love the ice cream. By the end of the story two more dinosaurs join Groovy Joe and the first dinosaur and they all eat the yummy doggy ice cream. They all shout it’s important to share and then start singing and dancing around singing they love their doggy ice cream. This is a really fun story with vibrant illustrations, so it is perfect for children just starting to learn about the importance of sharing.
1. That’s (Not) Mine
That’s (Not) Mine is the second book in the series written by Anna Kang. This book is perfect for kids ages 2 and up because the text is very simple and easy to understand. The pictures change as the story progresses to really help get the message of this book across. The book is about two friends that fight over one cozy chair. They can’t decide who the chair belongs to so they start to push and argue about who gets to sit in it. At the end of the story the two friends come up with the perfect solution. This book will open up the conversation about how to figure out what belongs to them and what belongs to someone else.