Mine!, by Susie Lee Jin, is a seemingly simple book talking the big concept of sharing.
Sharing can be difficult for preschoolers – and for the rest of us depending on the occasion and the item to be shared. Years ago, the almost four-year-old son of a friend took off his coat after coming home from preschool and with a very unhappy face asked, “How much longer does this sharing go on?”
In Mine!, two bunnies sledding down a hill find a carrot. The carrot attracts more bunnies, all of whom want the carrot. There is a fun twist at the end with a great opportunity for guessing whose carrot it really is. The story is really told through the illustrations of the bunnies who are the main characters. The illustrations are large and the faces are drawn with lots of emotion. There are really only three different words in the text: mine!, ours!!, and yours. The word mine appears 14 times in the text in various font sizes.
Fun With Reading
- Using a story like Mine! to engage your child in a concept like sharing is a great way to explore it and the accompanying emotions.
- Use the wonderful illustrations to help your child recognize facial expressions and their meaning
- Can your child identify the emotions on the faces?
- What does s/he think of the way the different bunnies claim ownership?
- Can s/he guess from the big clue who really owns the carrot?
- Should the one who first had it and lost it get it back?
- What do they think of the ending?
- Have they had some hard times sharing? Have you?
- On the third or fourth mine!, pause and see if your child will “read” the word
If you want to explore this topic further, here are a couple other titles:
Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems and It’s Mine! by Leo Lionni
