Martha Doesn’t Share was published by Hachette Book Group in 2010. It was written by Samantha Berger and illustrated by Bruce Whatley.
Martha is a selfish otter. Her favorite word is “mine”. Her parents try to get her to share with her little brother but she wants everything to be “mine”. By the end Martha realizes that if you’re going to be selfish, you’re going to eventually lose your friends.
The message of this book is good and it’s well developed. There’s tons of white space so that we focus solely on a few objects and the characters.
After reading the book description on the inside of the dust jacket, I was a bit surprised that Martha is an otter (this is judging from the front cover). After seeing the tail on the third page, I was a bit more convinced, but I though otters were a bit hairier. This character must’ve been tough for the illustrator to create... too hairy probably wouldn’t have been cute enough.
Martha Doesn’t Share is a well written book and teaches a good lesson to children.
