That’s Not Mine

Written by Anna Kang
Illustrated by Christopher Weyant
Two Lions     9/01/2015
978-1-4778-2639-3
32 pages      Age 4—8

“Two fuzzy creatures both want to sit in the same chair. The trouble is, they can’t agree who it belongs to.
“Mine.
“Mine.
“They get madder and madder, until . . .

“With expressive illustrations and simple text, this giggle-inducing take about (not) sharing and (not) being a good friends features the endearing characters from Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner You Are (Not) Small.” [inside jacket]

Review
The husband-wife team of Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant return with another hilarious childhood moment featuring the two creatures from You Are (Not) Small. (reviewed here) The two main creatures, one tall and orange, the other small and bluish-purple are at it again, which immediately put a huge smile upon my face. The argument is over a chair: who owns it, and who gets to sit in it.

Remember as kids fighting over who gets to sit where? That’s (Not) Mine is that story. Two adorable creatures want to sit in the same chair. The larger creature is comfortably sitting in a wing-backed chair knitting, when the smaller creature walks in and says,

Because the smaller guy had been sitting in the chair at some point in the day, he feels it is his chair, and wants it back—now. The big creature disagrees, much as anyone would disagree over such strange logic. The big creature replies,

“I’m sitting in it now.”
“I had it first. It’s mine.”
“I have it now. It’s mine.”

The little creature leaves only to return with another chair. This chair is a desk chair with wheels. It swivels and rolls. Oooh, the big creature is interested and asks to sit in the new chair. The little guy starts the “It’s mine” argument, but with a plan. What happens next will make you laugh. I did.

Now sitting in the wing-backed chair, the little creature reads a picture book (Yeah! I love it when characters read—and it’s a picture book!).

Well, two can play at that game. The big creature gets a big blue feather and tickles his little friend. What happens next will make you laugh. I did.

The big creature returns to the wing-backed chair, to the frustration and anger of his little friend. A new argument ensues; this one gets physical—ly funny! For parents with two or more children close in age, these illustrations might look familiar and will be laugh-out-loud moments.

There is pushing, plopping on top of one another, and an attempt to dump one creature out of the chair. Simultaneously the two yell,

“IT’S MINE!”

What happens next will make you laugh. I did.

A moment of clarity follows and the two friends apologize to each other and decide to go play. This is not the end of the story. Oh, no, not at all. After the two creatures leave, a third creature—slimmer and mid-sized—enters the room, sits down in the wing-backed chair, and . . . What happens next will make you laugh. I sure did!

I loved the first book, You Are (Not) Small, and now I love what I hope will become a series. The simple ink and watercolor (with brush pens), illustrations in That’s (Not) Mine make use of white space to draw the reader into the story. The creatures are as cute as they can be. Both look similar to bears. Young children will adore the two three creatures. The text is simple; making it easy for young children to learn new words, albeit the most frequent word is “mine.” The shift in font size accentuates the tone of each creature and adds to the laugh-out-loud moments.

Sharing, compromising, and get along with others, especially with friends are important skills That’s (Not) Mine can help parents instill in their young children. Even more important is the time spent together reading a great book, seeing yourself in the characters, and laughing-out-loud. I did.

THAT’S (NOT) MINE. Text copyright © 2015 by Anna Kang. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Christopher Weyant. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Two Lions, New York, NY.

“This copy of That’s (Not) Mine is MINE! Go get your own!”
Amazon—Book Depository—IndieBound Books—Two Lions.

Available in Paperback Next April, 2016.

Learn more about That’s (Not) Mine HERE.
Curriculum Guide can be found HERE.
Anna King’s Acceptance Speech – Theodor Seuss Geisel Award HERE.

Meet the author, Anna Kang, at her website:  http://www.annakang.com/
Blog       Facebook       Twitter       @annakang27
Meet the illustrator, Christopher Weyant, at his website:  http://christopherweyant.com/
Blog       Facebook       Twitter        @chrisweyant0
Find more picture books at the Two Lions website:  https://www.apub.com/imprint-detail?imprint=11
Blog       Facebook      Twitter         @AmazonPub
.          .Two Lions is an imprint of Amazon Publishing.

Also by Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant
Can I Tell You a Secret? (2106, Harper)
You Are (Not) Small
.        .2015 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
.        .ALA Notable Children’s Book
.        .Parents’ Choice Awards Silver Honor
.        .NPR Best Books of 2014

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Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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Full Disclosure: That’s (Not) Mine by Anna Kang & Christopher Weyant, and received from Two Lions (an imprint of Amazon Publishing), is in exchange NOT for a positive review, but for an HONEST review. The opinions expressed are my own and no one else’s. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

THAT’S (NOT) MINE by Anna Kang. Illustrations © 2015 by Christopher Weyant. Used by permission of Two Lions.