Mine!: A Story of Not Sharing

by Klara Persson, Charlotte Ramel (Illustrator), Nichola Smalley (Translator)

Nico is coming over to play, but Sally doesn't want him to touch her toy squirrel. Or her train. Not her parking garage either. Sally's mom said to put the things she doesn't want to share in the wardrobe. As it turns out, there are quite a lot of things Sally doesn't want to share--including her mom.  This fresh and funny approach to sharing shows just how complicated hiding all the things you love can be. In the end, it might be easier to give sharing a try. Maybe.
“Kids will find the whole concept a hoot and will come away understanding that greed isn’t actually that good….A paean to the realization that while sharing may be caring, it’s also more fun!”  - Kirkus Reviews 

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Childrens, Fiction, Friendship, Emotion

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2022

Reviews

[Ileana (The Tiniest Book Club) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heute kommt Nico zum Spielen. Aber das Eichhörnchen soll er nicht haben, meint Sally, „das ist nämlich ganz allein meins“. Mama schlägt vor, das Eichhörnchen in den Schrank zu legen. Und dort landet dann auch die Eisenbahn, das Bild mit den Hundewelpen… die Topfpflanze, das Sofa und Sallys Lieblingskühlschrank („Du hast einen Lieblingskühlschrank?“ fragt Mama)! Zum Spielen bleibt nix mehr übrig. Im Schrank ist es jetzt wahrscheinlich lustiger als draußen…

Humorvoll spielt „Meins!“ mit der Energie dieser berüchtigten, manchmal absurden Phase, in der Kinder alles an sich raffen wollen (bei manchen endet die nie). Die Ilustrationen von Charlotte Rommel (kennen wir vom genialen „Der beste Babysitter bin ich“) sind großartig. Sharing is caring, aber manchmal verspürt wohl jede*r den Drang, erst mal „Meins!“ zu brüllen.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Sally hears that Nico is coming over to play, she gets very possessive about Nico playing with her squirrel. First, Sally hides her squirrel in the closest. Then she puts in her train, car park, fish with the fishing rod and more. And more and more (Sally even throws Mom in) until the house has been emptied. Sally gets totally carried away, but she does learn from the experience and it all ends with a good laugh. A laugh out loud humorous picture book with a lovely friendship message about caring and sharing.

[Izabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sallys kompis Nico ska komma och hälsa på. men har får INTE låna Sallys ekorre. Så det så! Sally lägger in den i garderoben. Nico får inte låna tåget, metspöet, sängen, hundtavlan, toalettstolen... INGET får han låna!

Sally stoppar in allt i garderoben, inklusive mamma. Det blir inte så kul ändå...

En bok om kompisrelationer och att inte vilja dela med sig.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: "Nico's coming to play today," says Mom. "He can't play with the squirrel," Sally says. "It's mine." "Let's put the squirrel in the wardrobe," says Mom. "You can play with it later, when Nico's gone home."

Premise/plot: And so it begins....Sally begins tossing anything and everything into the wardrobe so that her play date, Nico, cannot play with it. The situation really gets out of hand...she even puts in HER toilet. Will Sally ever learn to share?

My thoughts: This picture book was originally published in Sweden. I want to say two things. First, I enjoy the humorous story line. I do. I think it's silly and over-the-top. I think it's relatable, to a certain degree. I think there's lessons to be learned, if you so desire. Second, I really do not like at all in any way the illustrations. They are just not for me. So I am conflicted on if I like this one...or not. I know I don't love it.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is the case for many youngsters, Sally has trouble sharing her things. When her mother tells her that her friend Nico is coming over to play and that she should put away anything she doesn't want to share with him, Sally takes extreme measures. She even stashes Mom away in the wardrobe, and when Eva, another friend, is due to arrive, she whisks Nico into the wardrobe as well. But there's a problem with all this hoarding. Sally is left with almost nothing and is filled with curiosity as to what's going on in that piece of furniture. It could be that maybe it's a good idea to share a thing or two. The expressive illustrations set against a background with soft colors attract readers' attention while the text delivers an important message in humorous fashion. That must have been a very spacious wardrobe.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most children's literature I read, I am thinking of my grand-niece and if this might be just the perfect book. With this one, it is such a humorous take on "our stuff." Sally is perfectly within her rights to not want to share certain things with Nico, who is coming over to play. What Sally soon realizes is that there is quite a lot she doesn't want Nico to be able to get at. At first, I thought Sally was a little brat, not wanting to share, but then I realized there are still parts of my life, my stuff, I don't necessarily want to share with the world. Sally reminds us all that it makes life much more fun to be open to sharing and playing together than hoarding away in isolation.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A modern tall tale about a girl who does not want to share, and goes to rather extreme measures to protect the things she doesn’t want others to touch.

Can you say hyperbole? This book sure can. With emphasis. This is a totally blown out of proportion story, that truly reads like a modern tall tale about a little girl who doesn’t want to share. It does the hyperbole so strongly that even though the intended message isn’t spelled out, I think even little kids will get what it is trying to say. And I think Sally’s mother should totally hire her out as a mover; she’d make them billions.

[Clarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story turned out to be quirky and fun instead of moralizing and ordinary. Sally doesn't want to share her toy squirrel or her toy train with her friend Nico who is coming over for a visit. So mom puts the toys in the wardrobe. Sally keeps adding things to the wardrobe so that Nico can't play with them, she puts in mom and the fridge, and the kitchen sink. Soon there is nothing left. When Nico arrives she puts him in the wardrobe because another friend Eva is coming over too, and Sally doesn't want Eva to play with Nico either (good thing the fridge is in there so Nico can have a snack). Then everything falls out of the wardrobe...
The illustrations are quirky and fun, I especially love the sideways view pages.

[Susan Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Nico is coming over to play, but Sally doesn't want him to touch her toy squirrel. Or her train. Not her parking garage either. Sally's mom said to put the things she doesn't want to share in the wardrobe. As it turns out, there are quite a lot of things Sally doesn't want to share--including her mom."

This is fun!

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if this has a good message or if there is no message to be had (even though the subtitle implies that it's supposed to be about sharing) I was left a little puzzled by this book. Not in a good way. I did enjoy the creative way that the book was laid out, but the art is not super appealing. (translated from Swedish)

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl doesn't want to share any of her belongings with anyone and she goes to extreme measures to hide it all away, until she can't!

This is a highly exagerrated story about the lengths this little girl will go to to make sure no one else gets to play with what is "hers". Her efforts are so outlandish that young readers are sure to pick up on how ridiculous not sharing can look like.

[Elizabeth]

Another bratty kid with a mom that didn't discipline the child.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delight to read! Very funny! Absurdly funny!

[Matěj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jen dnes šestkrát a slovo "moje" se doma hned stalo velmi populárním.

[Dita Baarová · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naprosto bombastická knížka pro děti, u které se zasměje i dospělý. Ilustrace jenom podtrhují humor celého příběhu a několikrát mi vehnaly slzy do očí. Slzy smíchu, samozřejmě. Fakt doporučuju!

[Fausta Latvyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

(^ー^)

[Biblioteken i Örnsköldsvik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sallys kompis Nico ska komma och hälsa på. men har får INTE låna Sallys ekorre. Så det så! Sally lägger in den i garderoben. Nico får inte låna tåget, metspöet, sängen, hundtavlan, toalettstolen... INGET får han låna!

Sally stoppar in allt i garderoben, inklusive mamma. Det blir inte så kul ändå...

En bok om kompisrelationer och att inte vilja dela med sig.

[Denise {børnelitteraturformidler} · Rating 3 out of 5]

En sød og sjov fortælling om Sally, der skal lære vigtigheden af at dele med andre. Dog lidt ærgerligt med småfejl i oversættelsen til dansk, hvor Nico både staves med C og med K.