Monday, August 11, 2008

The Boy Who Wouldn't Share

Anyone who spends any amount of time around young children knows that the concept of "sharing" can be difficult to convey. One of the first words most children learn is "mine".

Edward is such a child in The Boy Who Wouldn't Share written by Mike Reiss and illustrated by David Catrow. The opening verse sets the tone of the story:
Edward was a frightful boy who wouldn't share a single toy
.
Edward didn't allow his sister Claire to play with any of his toys. Then one day, he gets stuck under a giant pile of toys. He is so stuck that his mother who brings in a plate of fudge doesn't seem him at all and gives all of the fudge to Claire.

Fortunately for Edward, his little sister is the bigger person and offers to share the fudge with him and this leads to one of the best lines in the story:

Edward knew that he'd been crabby,

grouchy, grumbly, greedy, grabby.


Edward apologizes nicely to his sister and the rest of the day "turned out fine". In the end, this is a little morality tale with comic illustrations sure to amuse youngsters while making an important point.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Annie, I love your blog and so look forward to reading books with my new grandbaby. I see that you are reading more nonfiction than fiction these days yourself. I recently read "Miracles on the Water" and "Suite Francaise". Loved both of them! Anne

Annie said...

Thanks for stopping by, Anne. I hope you'll find lots of books to share with your new grandbaby. It's never too early to start creating a love for reading.