Our 9 Favorite Children's Books About Sharing

Explore our top 9 children’s books about sharing that will eliminate your child’s sharing problems.

Hey there, friends! I’ve been on the lookout for ways to make learning social and emotional skills such as friendship, perseverance, and honesty fun for my son.

I’ve discovered that using social emotional books to teach these important lessons is SUPER effective – and virtually hands off for me, as a teacher and homeschool mama (important!).

So today, I’m giving you my top children’s books about sharing. Grab a cozy spot and get ready to dive into the wonderful world of social emotional learning through books. Let’s do this!

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If you only have time for one book on sharing, be sure to check out my favorite one below! This book is sure to capture your child’s attention and teach them valuable lessons about sharing with others.

“The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister

“The Rainbow Fish” is a beloved children’s book by Marcus Pfister. The story follows a beautiful fish with shiny, rainbow-colored scales who is admired by all the other fish in the sea.

However, the Rainbow Fish is also very proud and doesn’t want to share his beauty with anyone else. The other fish eventually stop talking to him because he won’t share. The Rainbow Fish becomes very lonely and seeks advice from the wise octopus who tells him to share his beauty with others.

The Rainbow Fish reluctantly gives away his shiny scales to the other fish and soon finds that sharing his gifts brings him more happiness and friends than he could have ever imagined.

In this section, you’ll find books that go beyond the basics of sharing and teach important lessons about empathy, kindness, and understanding. By exploring these books with your child, you’ll be able to help them understand the value of sharing, but also how to be a good friend and a caring individual. These stories offer a unique perspective on the theme of sharing and can help open up conversations about compassion, generosity, and selflessness.

Sofia has a special toy fire truck from her grandpa that she promised to take care of. When her friends ask to play with the truck, she doesn’t want to share because she worries about being able to keep her promise of taking care of the truck.

However, during a trip for ice cream with her mother, Sofia learns the magic of sharing and how it can make experiences better. Her and her mother discuss how sharing can make us happier than if we choose not to.

Later, she decides to share the truck with her friends, and they all help take care of it. But when the fire truck goes missing, they have to work together to find it.

Through this experience, Sofia learns the importance of sharing and the value of friendship.

“The Jelly Donut Difference” by Maria Dismondy

“The Jelly Donut Difference” by Maria Dismondy is a heartwarming story that emphasizes the value of sharing, kindness, and working together as a family.

The story follows twin siblings, Dexter and Leah, who are constantly bickering about sharing and taking turns. Their parents send them over to their neighbor, Mrs. Marvis, to borrow some eggs, for dinner that night. On their visit, the twins realize that she is lonely and doesn’t have anyone to share her time with.

The children invite Mrs. Marvis to dinner with their friends and learn about her tradition of making jelly donuts with her children. They surprise Mrs. Marvis by making the donuts she used to make then left them on her doorstep. Later, Mrs. Marvis writes a note thanking the twins for their kindness and thoughtfulness. The twins realize how thankful they are for each other and the opportunity to work together.

As preschoolers, children are beginning to understand the concept of sharing, but it can still be a challenge for them to put it into practice. That’s why I’ve included some of the best picture books about sharing for preschoolers.

“Share, Big Bear, Share!” is a charming children’s book about a bear who learns the value of sharing. Big Bear has a big bucket of delicious berries, but when his forest friends ask for some, he doesn’t notice them.

The wise old oak tree tries to teach Big Bear about sharing, but he misunderstands and thinks the tree is saying words like “chair,” “scare,” or “lair” instead of “share”.

Finally at the end, Bear understands his mistake and apologizes to his friends. He learns that sharing not only makes others happy, but it also brings joy to himself. The friends all share the berries together and have a delightful picnic in the forest.

Sharing Ninja used to love “stuff” and he always wanted to keep all of it to himself. If someone asked to borrow a crayon, pencil, or wanted to play with a ball, he wouldn’t let them.

It wasn’t until he talked with his friend Humble Ninja that he had a change of heart. Sharing Ninja learned the importance and benefits of sharing and from then on, he decided to share with others.

As toddlers begin to develop social skills, we start to think about how to teach toddlers to share. Reading toddler books about sharing can help them learn valuable lessons about kindness, empathy, and teamwork. In this section, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best books about sharing for toddlers.

“Friends Ask First!” by Alexandra Cassel

This is one of the more popular books about taking turns with Daniel Tiger! In “Friends Ask First!” by Alexandra Cassel, Daniel Tiger is reading a book with his class when Prince Wednesday snatches the book away to see the pictures closer.

Their teacher, Mrs. Harriet, teaches Prince Wednesday about asking first before taking something from someone else, using a catchy song.

Later in class, Daniel takes blocks from Ms. Elaina without asking, but remembers Mrs. Harriet’s lesson and decides to ask first. As the day goes on, the children continue to practice asking first and it leads to more enjoyable playtime together. This taking-turns-book emphasizes the importance of respecting others and their belongings by asking first.

“It’s Mine!” by Leo Lionni

This story is about three frogs who struggled to share and get along. One day a toad told the three frogs to stop bickering and a storm came. The frogs were scared and the rain raised the water level where there was only one rock left which they had to share to stay out of the water. They realized that the rock was actually the toad. From this experience, the frogs learned that it is not so bad to share after all.

“The Caring Me I Want To Be” by Mary DiPalermo

Learning the importance of sharing is more than sharing a toy, cookie, or any other physical item. It could be as simple as sharing a smile, a kind act, or a positive attitude.

This story is about a girl who looks for ways to show others kindness, spread cheer, and do acts of kindness. She smiles, says kind words, helps her friends in need, and shares. Through her kind efforts she also notices the kind deeds that others do for her. She explains how doing kind acts can spread smiles not only to others but for herself too.

Solving sharing problems with friends is sometimes easier said than done. These children’s books on sharing provide relatable scenarios that children can learn from when it comes to resolving conflicts and sharing with others. By seeing characters in these books work together to solve problems, children can learn valuable social skills such as empathy, communication, and compromise.

“The Squirrels Who Squabbled” by Rachel Bright

This humorous and catchy book teaches many important lessons but the best of all is the power of sharing.

Cyril was unprepared for winter, and while searching for food, he stumbled upon the last pinecone of the season, which Bruce, a plan-ahead squirrel, also wanted.

The two squirrels then engaged in a race to see who could reach the pinecone first, leading to a series of adventures that taught them the importance of cooperation and sharing.

I hope these children’s books about sharing have been helpful and that you and your child enjoy reading together. These books will not only teach your children about sharing but also help them develop problem-solving and communication skills. By reading these books together with your child, you can create a fun and engaging way to teach them important life skills.

What’s Next?

Keep the learning momentum going and read more social emotional learning (SEL) books to teach important life skills. Here’s where I recommend you go next! ↓

Table of Contents

Our Top Pick: Children’s Books on Sharing

Other Epic Sharing Books

Preschool Books About Sharing

Sharing Books For Toddlers

Sharing Book: Children’s Books About Solving Problems With Friends

Conclusion: Children’s Books About Sharing

What’s Next?

Read Next: 11 Heartwarming Books About Friendship for Kids