Will Sheila Share? by Elivia Savadier
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Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY -- School Library Journal, 4/2/2008
From SLJ April 2008
SAVADIER, Elivia. Will Sheila Share? illus. by author. unpaged. CIP. Roaring Brook/A Neal Porter Bk. 2008. Tr $12.95. ISBN 978-1-59643-289-5. LC 2007010039.
PreS-K–On the cover of this picture book, a red-faced redhead clutches a bag of candies while looking around in wide-eyed panic. In this deceptively simple ink-and-watercolor illustration, Savadier has captured the essence of a child’s reluctance to share: If I give you some, I’m afraid I won’t have enough for me; I’m afraid you’ll take it all; I’m afraid you won’t give it back. Minimal words and pictures complement one another so well that each page or spread tells its own story. As Sheila’s family discusses what she won’t share–"not her bunny, or her ball"–the curly-haired toddler seems to expand as she angrily protects her toy rabbit from a crying baby or as she stretches herself across the top of an immense beach ball. When Sheila doesn’t share, her awareness narrows to herself and her possessions; she shows fear, anger, and an aggressive defense of her turf. But she smiles and relaxes when she is able to give–cheerfully distributing bits of dry cereal to her sister, green beans to the family terrier, and, in two especially cozy drawings, a hug and a kiss to her grandmother. It’s Nana who shows her grandchild that not sharing is hurtful and that sharing gives Sheila a different and happier kind of power. This is a funny, non-preachy look at a toddler’s wrestling match with her survival instincts.
