Javier García Navarro, a primary school teacher and father of two young children, has published his first children’s book, a story about learning to share — and about the mixed messages adults send.
The idea
García Navarro noticed a contradiction in everyday life: children are constantly told to share, yet adults often refuse to share with them. Why, he asked himself, do we expect generosity from children when we often model the opposite?
The story
The book, whose title translates as Sharing Is Not Easy, follows a young girl who is repeatedly asked to hand over her toys, her snacks and her time. When she asks adults — her father, her teacher — to share something with her, they say no. Confused and frustrated, she struggles with the double standard.
The turning point comes when she meets a friend who genuinely wants to share with her, and she discovers the pleasure of giving freely. The message is that sharing comes naturally when it is mutual and willing, not forced.
The illustrations
The book is illustrated by Cris Seto, with simple, clean images that keep the focus on the characters’ emotions. García Navarro offered suggestions, and the illustrator translated them into expressive drawings suitable for young readers.
The publisher
The book is published by Babidi-bú in its La casita esdrújula collection, which focuses on educational stories with an emotional dimension, designed for reading both at home and in the classroom.
Why it matters
Learning to share is one of the earliest social challenges children face. Child development experts point out that children learn far more from what adults do than from what they say, and that forcing a child to give up something can produce resentment rather than generosity.
Using the book
- Reading aloud: parents and teachers can pause to ask, “How would you feel?”
- Role play: children can practise asking to share and responding.
- Classroom projects: pupils can write or draw their own stories about sharing.
The book invites adults as well as children to reflect — on fairness, on boundaries and on the difference between real generosity and obedience.
