MY NEW SANDBOX

When a boy gets a new sandbox in his backyard, one that's just his size, he wants it all to himself. ``Get out,'' he shouts to a bug, a bird, a dog, and a girl. But pretty soon his hard-won solitude becomes lonely. He decides there's room for all and invites the others back. Anyone who has ever spent time with preschoolers knows that sharing (and not sharing) often becomes a central issue; small children will understand exactly how the little boy feels. Jakob (Tiny Toes, 1995, etc.) reduces the emotional tug-of-war to minimalist sentences on the first page: ``There is a bug. A black bug. There is a black bug waddling in the sand.'' She then creates a cumulative effect with the boy's repetitions of key phrases, e.g. ``my new sandbox,'' ``my backyard,'' and ``just my size.'' The illustrations —stylized graphics in bright, airbrushed acrylics—make the action accessible and child-sized, and add to the bold and visually appealing whole. (Picture book. 3-7)