Circle Round: Sun Flower Lion by Kevin Henkes

What can you see? What can a circle be?

THIS IS THE SUN.

It is round, with rays.

THIS IS A FLOWER.

It is round, with petals.

THIS IS A LION.

His head is round, with a mane.

Warming in the sun, the lion runs over hills filled with golden sunflowers. When he tires, he lies down to rest and begins to dream. He begins to dream of golden cookies which look like the sunflowers and like the warm sun. And when he wakes, he runs home, happy to be with his family, sleeping and warm together.

In his latest, Sun Flower Lion Sun Flower Lion (Greenwillow Books, 2020), Caldecott-winning author-illustrator uses simple text and simple shapes to introduce color and evocative language to explore similaries of form and feeling. The sun is warm and so is the circle of family, and the little lion moving through the landscape of sunflowers ties together the concepts as he goes. As in his Caldecott Medal book, Kitten's First Full Moon:, kids bookshelf the method is the message, and Henkes' easy-reading text makes this book both a toddler book teaching shapes and a beginning reader for Kindergarten and first graders.

Henkes creates an impeccably designed story that’s rewarding for toddlers and early readers alike. "With imagination at its center, this participatory read-aloud also cleverly introduces the concept of simile and metaphor. 

As brilliant as can be,” says Kirkus, in a starred review.

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.