Wednesday 12 November 2014

Book Review: Mine! written by Sue Heap

This shall be the first of my book reviews. I'll be reviewing English and Malay picture books, both local and international. I hope that these reviews will help you choose which books to purchase from the bookshops or borrow from the library.

My first book review is on Mine!, a picture book written and illustrated by Sue Heap. It's suitable for children 2-4 years old.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This book was on display at the Sengkang Regional Library (Singapore), together with a few other books in the New Arrival section. Its book cover captured my attention as I stepped into the library so I took the book, read the content and borrowed it.

The story is about a girl named Amy (the girl on the left) who loves her toys but does not want to share them with the other children. She's a typical toddler who does not want other children to play with her toys because, simply, those toys are hers, and not theirs. She does not even allow a baby to take her toys.

It is a great book to teach children about the concept of sharing and playing together, but there a few points which parents need to discuss with their toddlers after reading this book to them:

1) Acknowledge that it is hard for them to share their things, so tell them that if they do not want to share their toys, take turns in playing with the toys. As parents, we also need to ensure that every child in our house has his/her own toys to play with. If they are tired of playing with the same toys, teach them the concept of 'temporary exchange of toys'.

2) In the story, there are two toddler boys who pick up Amy's toys and play with them. With regards to this part of the story, we should remind our children that taking other people's things without permission is not acceptable. If they see a toy which is not theirs lying on the floor, they should not take it. They should inform us or their teacher about the toy, so that it can be put aside. We should never allow children to pick up toys which are not theirs, unless the toys are meant for all children to play with (e.g. toys in indoor playgrounds). This is a good habit to inculcate in children as it teaches them about integrity.

I personally love the simple and cute illustrations of the book. The illustrations can be easily understood by toddlers, which is why this book may be effective in capturing their attention.

For this book, I give a rating of 7.5 / 10.

To know more about the book and the author Sue Heap, go to http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20708780-mine.

That's all folks! Thank you for reading!

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