Books About Sharing for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Erin P.:  This is a great Mo Willems book. Gerald the elephant worries over whether he should share his ice cream with his friend Piggie. You can guess what happens to his ice cream as he agonizes over what to do! Fortunately, the story has a happy ending for both Gerald and Piggie, and a valuable lesson for your little one!

Erin P.:  In this popular book by Marcus Pfister, the Rainbow Fish learns the importance of sharing as, one-by-one, he gives away his beautiful rainbow scales and ultimately realizes that he gains more in the end than he gave up. The book features eye-catching foil-stamping on every page that your child is sure to love.

Sue Krawitz Tandoc:  The Spiffiest Giant in Town by Julia Donaldson is a unique and cleverly written story about George the Giant, who wants new clothes instead of his old gown. Once he is dressed spiffy from head to toe, he goes on an adventure and meets animals along the way who need his help. One by one, he gives each animal an article of clothing and realizes he is happier to help others and share what he has than putting himself first.

Kristy Pepping:  This book by Daniel Kirk is about two friends, a sock monkey and a toy dog. One day they get into an argument over a ball and the sock monkey says, "you are not my friend." When he walks away to find another playmate, he thinks about what he said and realizes this was not kind.

I really like the lesson in the book because it teaches kids that saying something mean can really hurt someone else like a playmate or a sibling. And it reminds kids to think before lashing out verbally.

Erin P.:  Norris the bear is waiting for the last piece of fruit to fall from the tree. But wait! Tulip the raccoon and Violet the mouse have also been waiting. Norris is the one who catches the fruit when it falls. What do you think he does with it?

(SPOILER ALERT: He shares it with Tulip and Violet, and makes two new friends in the process!)

Erin P.:  In this book, everyone's favorite llama gets new neighbors! What fun Llama Llama will surely have with his new neighbor, Nelly Gnu. But wait....does Llama Llama have to share ALL of his toys? Read this book, by Anna Dewdney, with your little one to find out! :)

Sue Krawitz Tandoc:  Abe's Fish by Jen Bryant is based on a real life event of Abraham Lincoln. Young Abe goes fishing for his family's dinner and catches a perch. On his walk home, he crosses paths with a hungry soldier. Despite his family's need for a real fish meal, Abe generously gives the fish to the soldier while his family has turnip soup.

This story teaches to give and share with others despite their own needs and wants. The story is inspirational as a boyhood tale of the famous and honest president. It teaches empathy for others and that giving and sharing is better than receiving.

Kristy Pepping:  This book by Petr Horacek is about two worms who find a pear and both starting eating it. Soon they get tangled together and start to fight with each other. In the end, they learn to share. Jonathan and Martha is a great lesson for kids and the illustrations are bright and colorful which adds a nice touch.

Erin P.:  Cheri J. Meiners' book uses concrete examples and illustrations to help children learn about sharing. It gives some suggestions for HOW your child can share with others. For example, sometimes you can share things by dividing them and sometimes you can share things by using them together. It also includes both questions that you can ask your little one and games that you can play to help reinforce the ideas introduced in the book.

Kristy Pepping:  My daughter read this book at preschool and as you know, preschoolers are not the best at sharing! This book by Pat Hutchins is about Ma making cookies for her kids. They are enjoying the cookies, but the doorbell keeps ringing with more friends wanting a cookie. This great book is about sharing with your friends and also introduces some basic math because there are only 12 cookies total to share equally between all the kids.

Erin P.:  We are big fans of some of the lessons that we can learn from dinosaurs in the "How Do Dinosaurs....?" books by Jane Yolen! In this one, dinosaurs show us how to "play nicely" with our friends.

Kelly R.:  My kids loved Olivier Dunrea's Gossie & Friends book series for years, and this story about Gossie comes with a simple lesson about sharing. Gossie searches all over for her beloved red boots, and learns how to share something she loves when she finally finds them.

Kelly R.:  Anna Kang's cute and funny book about an escalating disagreement between two creatures who both want to sit in a comfy chair. A simple story that's a great way to introduce the concept of sharing with younger kids.