People Share with People

by Lisa Wheeler; illus. by Molly Idle

Preschool    Atheneum    40 pp.

9/19    978-1-5344-2559-0    $17.99

e-book ed.  978-1-5344-2560-6    $10.99

The team behind People Don’t Bite People (rev. 3/18) presents another useful and engaging toddler-skills picture-book primer in rhyme, with child-friendly examples and Idle’s dynamic, appealing illustrations to downplay the didacticism. “It’s good to share a blanket. / It’s nice to share some fries. / It’s great to share your crayons / BEFORE somebody cries.” The story covers friendship sharing, sibling sharing (“Your mom is NOT a wishbone. / You can’t split her in two!”), and things not to share (“And please, oh PLEASE, / don’t share your sneeze!”). Intangibles such as “love, respect, and time,” along with the whys of sharing (i.e., to make the world a better place), are also touched upon. This book’s subject may be less pointed than its predecessor, but its lessons are just as necessary and valuable, and delivered in a way that should entertain young children (see: a child using two of those shared French fries as walrus tusks).

From the September/October 2019 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.