THE BOY WHO WOULDN’T SHARE

Even Catrow’s flamboyantly over-the-top art can’t completely rescue this superficial cautionary tale from the heap of mediocre, heavy-handed takes on the theme. Bulbous, sour-faced Edward resolutely guards his heaping pile of toys from little sister Claire (who looks remarkably like Cindy Lou Who in both posture and visage)—“IT’S MINE. MINE. MINE!” Then Mom comes in with a plate of fudge, and so buried is he in the stack that she passes it all to Claire. Edward instantly changes his tune: “ ‘Share my toys,’ said Edward. ‘Take them. / Hold them! Hug them! You can break them!’ ” Edward gets some fudge, and off the two go to play in happy harmony thereafter. Right. Young readers will enjoy picking Edward’s toys, which range from a wizard’s hat and a blow-up, life-size Frankenstein to a “Yeti in a Can,” out of the jumble, but his obviously fudge-driven remorse is entirely too sudden and heartfelt to be credible. Kids will relish the illustrations and get a guffaw or two, though, and that can’t be all bad. (Picture book. 6-8)