Best Books About Sharing for Toddlers (Ages 1–3)

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1. Sharing Silver — one to grow into (written for ages 3–7)

Sharing Silver is squarely about sharing, but it is written for ages 3–7, and at around a thousand words it is a long sit for an under-three. Some two-year-olds will follow it on a lap at bedtime because the pictures carry the story, and by three most children are ready for all of it. Silver the Super Pup walks a greedy dog named Bandit around the forest to show him what happens to the animals who share and the one who does not: Greedy Gus the goat shouts "Mine! All mine!" over his cookies and ends up alone with the crumbs. That scene is the part a toddler will recognise. The rest of the book, about kindness coming back around, lands better from three.

“The world is like a mirror. It reflects back what you give.”

Sharing Silver — a superhero training story about sharing and giving, for ages 3–7. For toddlers, one to read together now and grow into.

View Sharing Silver on Amazon

You can read a sample of Sharing Silver first, or see our full sharing and kindness round-up for all ages.

2. Llama Llama Time to Share — by Anna Dewdney (ages 2–5)

The most toddler-friendly sharing book on this list once your child is about 2. Little Llama doesn't want to share his beloved Fuzzy Llama toy when a new neighbour, Nelly Gnu, comes over to play — a scenario many toddler parents will recognise instantly. The resolution is warm and honest rather than preachy, and Anna Dewdney's large, expressive illustrations make it perfect for very young readers who follow pictures as much as words. Read it the week before a playdate and it gives you a real shortcut: "remember how Llama felt when Nelly played with Fuzzy?" The language is simple, though most children get the most from it from around their second birthday. View Llama Llama Time to Share on Amazon.

3. Sharing a Shell — by Julia Donaldson (ages 2–6)

A hermit crab finds a beautiful new shell and absolutely does not want to share it — not with the tickly bristleworm or the squishy sea anemone. Julia Donaldson's signature rhyming text makes this one of the most re-readable books on this list for toddlers who love rhythm and repetition. The glittery illustrations by Lydia Monks add a sensory sparkle that very young children are drawn to. It handles the toddler impulse to claim everything as "mine" with gentle humour rather than a lecture, which is exactly what you need at this age. Works beautifully as a read-aloud from 18 months up. View Sharing a Shell on Amazon.

4. The Rainbow Fish — by Marcus Pfister (board book, ages 1–3)

A shimmering fish learns that sharing his most prized scales — the ones that make him special — wins him something better than admiration: real friends. The physical foil scales you can feel on the page turn this into a sensory experience for toddlers who want to touch everything. The message is simple and visible: the fish shares, and the fish becomes happy. For toddlers who are just starting to understand what sharing means, that clear cause and effect is really useful. Best introduced around age 2.5 to 3. One thing worth knowing before you buy: we've linked the sturdy 14-page board book here, because that's the edition built for toddler hands. It's an abridged cut of the story with about half the original paintings left out, so if your child is closer to 4 and can sit through a longer read, buy the full 32-page picture book instead. View the Rainbow Fish board book on Amazon.

5. It's Mine! — by Leo Lionni (ages 3–7)

Three quarrelsome frogs live on an island and spend their days arguing about what belongs to each of them — the water, the earth, the air — until a storm forces them to huddle together and they discover sharing feels completely different from fighting over things. Leo Lionni's distinctive cut-paper collages and a deceptively simple story make the lesson land on its own, without spelling it out. Toddlers around age 3 who are starting to work through ownership and possession find it oddly satisfying — the frogs feel exactly what they feel. View It's Mine! on Amazon →

6. Should I Share My Ice Cream? — by Mo Willems (ages 3–6)

Elephant Gerald agonises over whether to share his ice cream with Piggie — and by the time he decides to, it has melted. A funny, relatable story about the cost of hesitating. Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie books are beloved for their simple speech-bubble format and enormous emotional honesty — Gerald's inner conflict will look very familiar to any parent of a toddler. The humour makes it genuinely re-readable, and older toddlers who can hold a longer story find Gerald's anguish hilarious and recognisable. View Should I Share My Ice Cream? on Amazon →

7. Strictly No Elephants — by Lisa Mantchev (ages 3–6)

A boy with a tiny pet elephant is excluded from the local Pet Club because his pet doesn't fit in — so he starts a new one where every unusual pet is welcome. A warm story about inclusion and the kind of friendship that doesn't ask you to change. Works well for toddlers who are beginning to notice that some children get included and others don't — and gives them language for being the one who opens the door. The elephant is completely adorable, which helps. View Strictly No Elephants on Amazon →

8. That’s (Not) Mine — by Anna Kang, illustrated by Christopher Weyant (ages 2–6)

The flashpoint every toddler parent knows: two children, one thing, both completely certain it belongs to them. A purple creature and an orange one want the same comfy chair. “I was sitting in it before.” “I’m sitting in it now.” The whole book is that argument, told in dialogue, escalating through swivel spins and a tickly feather until the pair give up on the chair and go off to play together. Toddlers laugh because they recognise it, and the point lands without anyone delivering it: the fight was costing them the fun. If your two-year-old is stuck on possession rather than sharing, start here. View That’s (Not) Mine on Amazon →

9. Mine! — by Jeff Mack (one word, works from about age 2)

Two mice, one rock, one word. Jeff Mack tells the entire story using nothing but “Mine!”, which makes this the most accessible book on the list for a child who has very few words of their own yet. Your toddler can read it back to you on the second go, and that is the clever part: they end up voicing both sides of a grabbing match instead of only their own. It is silly enough to survive twenty bedtimes, and short enough to squeeze in when there is no time for a real story. View Mine! on Amazon →

10. How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? — by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague (board book, ages 2–4)

The flashpoint here is play that goes wrong. The dinosaurs hog, grab and wreck the game, and then the book turns and shows them doing it properly instead: sharing the toys, waiting for a turn, saying please. Yolen’s rhyme and Teague’s enormous dinosaurs make the bad behaviour funny and the good behaviour obvious, and toddlers love being the one who spots which dinosaur is misbehaving. The board-book edition survives being sat on, which at this age matters. View How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? on Amazon →

11. Duck & Goose — by Tad Hills (ages 1–3)

The flashpoint: claiming something neither of you actually owns. Duck and Goose both find a big spotted ball, both decide it is theirs, and both settle in to guard it, until minding it together turns out to be the better game. This is the youngest-skewing book on the list: short sentences, big warm illustrations, and a resolution that never once uses the word share. Good for the 18-month to 2-year stretch when a whole story is still a lot to sit through. View Duck & Goose on Amazon →

12. The Squirrels Who Squabbled — by Rachel Bright and Jim Field (ages 3–7)

The flashpoint: the last one. Cyril the squirrel has planned nothing for winter and Bruce has hoarded everything, and the final pine cone of the season sends them both on a chase that costs them far more than the cone was ever worth. It rhymes, it gallops, and it is a genuine pleasure to read aloud. This one sits at the older end of the list, so save it for a confident nearly-three-year-old or treat it as a book to grow into. View The Squirrels Who Squabbled on Amazon →

13. Share and Take Turns — by Cheri J. Meiners (ages 2–5)

The one that hands over the actual words. This is direct instruction rather than story: cheerful illustrations, very simple sentences about what sharing looks like, and plain language for asking for a turn and waiting for one. Next to Llama Llama it can feel plain, and that plainness is exactly the point on the day your toddler needs a script rather than a metaphor. The back of the book has discussion questions and games for grown-ups, which is handy if sharing is the current battleground. View Share and Take Turns on Amazon →

Quick comparison: at a glance

Every book here is sorted by the sharing flashpoint it handles, because that is how the trouble actually shows up: grabbing what someone else is holding, both children wanting the same one thing, refusing to give it back, or simply not having the words yet. Find the row that matches your week.

How to use these books with toddlers

Toddlers are not tiny adults — they are still building the brain wiring for empathy and impulse control, which is why "just share!" rarely works on its own. What does work is giving them a character to copy. The best thing you can do with any of these books is read them before the situation arises — before the playdate, before the new sibling arrives, before the toy arrives at Christmas — so the idea is already there when you need it.

It helps to know what is actually developing. In a well-known 2006 study published in Science, Felix Warneken and Michael Tomasello found that children as young as 18 months would spontaneously help an adult who was struggling, with no prompt and no reward. The instinct to be good to someone else, in other words, is already there long before the language is. What comes later, and much more slowly, is giving up something you want yourself while you still want it. That is why a toddler can fetch you a dropped sock and still refuse to hand over a digger thirty seconds afterwards, and it is not a character flaw you need to fix. Books help because they let a child rehearse the hard version, in a story, when nothing of theirs is at stake.

Keep sessions short and let your toddler set the pace. If they want the same page three times, that's fine — repetition is how very young children learn. Once they know the story, you have a shortcut in real moments: "remember how Llama felt when Nelly played with Fuzzy?" That small callback does more than any explanation you could give in the middle of a meltdown. For practical ideas on what to say in those moments, see our guide on how to teach a toddler to share and what to do when your child won't share toys.

Also see the full sharing and kindness round-up for books that work across all ages (toddler through age 8), or the preschooler sharing round-up if your child is 3–5 and ready for slightly richer stories.