How We Share Cake

If you are a family with a number of brothers and sisters, sharing is a fact of life. Indeed, it will impinge on every aspect of life, from treats to tasks, wellington boots to baths. It seems as if everything has to be divided up and separated. Or is it, in fact, part of being together?

This picture book from Korea, the words and illustration by Kim Hyo-eun, translated by Deborah Smith, brings the concept of sharing to life. We meet a family of five children – three sisters and two brothers and are introduced to their traditional Korean designators. They are immediately recognisable despite the simplicity with which they are depicted. We see how everything has to be divided and shared – and we hear their reactions, each individual, from the slightly bossy, entitled eldest to the enthusiastic youngest. Sometimes the division is equal, other times perhaps less so, and even if the allocation is equal who will go first? This is a funny, clever, sympathetic and empathetic, exploration of a situation that many in its young audience will recognise. The illustrations, deceptive in their childlike appeal, provide an engaging and satisfying accompaniment to the concise text. Together the effect is immediate. This is a book to share, both as a family and even more, perhaps, in a classroom where it could give rise to interesting comment and discussion.