⭐I Want It!. 

By Paul Meisel. Illus. by the author Apr. 2025. 32p. Holiday, $15.99 (9780823458882). PreS–Gr. 2 

In a firecracker of a story, Meisel, a Geisel Honoree for two other I Like to Read titles, See Me Run (2011) and I See a Cat (2017), provides the kind of repetition, short sentences, and familiar vocabulary that are hallmarks of this series for emergent readers. As two siblings engage in an escalating battle, the older sibling, a boy, is shown carrying a box of toys, with one word in the thought bubble over his head: “Mine.” He quickly surrounds himself with toys, including a superhero character, trucks, cars, emergency vehicles, and a large, crazed-looking dragon. His pigtailed little sister has none—until she sneaks a tiny car away from him, happily voicing the truck: “Beep.” This turns out to be the starting point of the fight, with the outraged boy repeatedly demanding, “I want it.” The illustrations, done in pen and ink and digitally colored, are wonderfully expressive. The heavy rings drawn round the siblings’ eyes and mouths make them look completely outraged. The illustrations also move from solitary imaginative play to sneaking into the opposing sibling’s camp to full-out flailing on the floor. Plenty of action that any child can relate to makes this widely accessible, and a nice “Let’s play!” resolution gives a comforting conclusion.