Mine! All Mine! Martha Doesn't Share by Samantha Berger

MARTHA HAS A NEW FAVORITE WORD....

MINE!

"MYE?" ASKED HER BABY BROTHER EDWIN.

"NO! MINE!" SAID MARTHA.

With the results of Santa's bounty spread all over the house, the issue of sibling sharing soon becomes salient. Kids tire of their own new gizmos, and the one their brother or sister is playing with begins to look ever so interesting, especially if it's an older sib who is not above playing Tom Sawyer painting the fence. Look how much fun MY toy is. Don't you wish YOU had one? Well, you don't!

That's Martha, in Samantha Berger's second book about big sister Martha, Martha doesn't share! (Little, Brown). Martha hoards her stuff, whether it's her stack of pancakes, her lava lamp, or her ample pile of Teddies. Little Edwin gazes with obvious longing at Martha's belongings, and her parents try to encourage some taking of turns with the toys. Edwin is eager, but Martha is frankly oppositional to the whole concept.

"BESIDES, IT'S MINE!" SAYS MARTHA.

"OKAY." SAYS HER MOTHER AND WALKS AWAY.

"OKAY." SAYS HER FATHER AND WALKS AWAY.

" 'K, MAFFA," SAYS EDWIN AS HE WADDLES AWAY.

Martha hoards her precious stuff and takes it all to her own room. She tries putting on a play with her puppets but a one-man puppet show falls on deaf ears. She does a few tricks with her magic kit. There's no magic without an audience to mystify. She picks up her ping pong paddle and hits the ball. The result is uninspiring.

IT'S HARD TO PING WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE SOMEONE TO PONG.

This sharing thing needs to be re-negotiated, Martha muses.

In the sequel to her Martha doesn't say sorry! Samantha Berger shows a couple of parents with a lot of insight into their stubborn little daughter, and Martha, of course, discovers a major truth--there are some things in life that must be shared to be enjoyed.

Berger's Martha doesn't share! joins Leo Lionni's classic It's Mine! and Mo Willem's recently published Should I Share My Ice Cream? (An Elephant and Piggie Book) as notable treatises on that most thorny of human issues: when do we reserve our possessions and when do we share? Bruce Whatley (famous for his artwork in the Diary of a Wombat books) provides the stylish illustrations of Martha and family, in which their body language and facial expressions are charmingly portrayed and extend Berger's simple text.