That's Not Mine (You Are Not Small #2)

Told entirely through (increasingly irate) dialogue, Kang and Weyant's follow-up to You Are (Not) Small, brings back the purple and orange bearlike creatures from that book, who are now fighting over ownership of a chair. "I was sitting in it before," says the purple one. "I'm sitting in it now," responds the other. Using distraction (a spinning, zooming swivel chair) and dirty tricks (a tickle-inducing feather), the animals wrest control of the chair from the other, before giving up to play together. Kang's stripped-down dialogue and Weyant's exuberant cartoons tap into the core of their characters' emotions in a story that highlights the foolishness of fighting when there's fun to be had. Ages 2-7. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Sept.)

K-Gr 2-- That's (Not) Mine teaches the value of sharing by demonstrating the opposite. A tall brown bear and a stubby blue bear--the very same pair from You Are (Not) Small (Amazon, 2014)--both want to sit in the same comfy yellow chair, but neither is willing to give it up. They argue about who it belongs to, constantly crying "It's mine!," and just like belligerent children they offer the kind of reasoning one would expect from such a statement. Quickly, their fairly "innocent" attempts to lay claim to the chair through trickery descend into physically removing one another. Their furrowed brows express the seriousness of the situation without detracting from the humorous approach of the overall look. With copious white space, the design is effective and cute. The story ends on a reassuring note, as the characters realize their folly and make up. Kang and Weyant's minimalistic art and dialogue force viewers to make their own inferences about events, especially in regards to why it is wrong to act in such a manner. VERDICT With its clever use of reverse psychology, That's (Not) Mine provides the perfect foundation for a discussion on sharing.--Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ontario, Canada