Manners Mash-Up: A Goofy Guide to Good Behavior
Echoing the concept behind Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? (2006) and Knock, Knock! (2007), 14 rising and established illustrators present their takes on good—and, more interestingly, bad—etiquette. Each gets a spread and a different locale: Bob Shea portrays a bus full of rambunctious animals; Lynn Munsinger crowds a cafeteria with pink pigs in school clothes; Tedd Arnold visits the “All-Alien Slimeball Championships” for observations about good conduct on any field of play; and contributions from others such as Sophie Blackall, LeUyen Pham, and Adam Rex offer busy scenes at the doctor’s office, a playground, the dinner table, and like common settings. The admonitions peppering each picture—most of which, despite an occasional exception such as “Don’t pick your nose,” follow along the conventional lines of “Don’t play ball in the house,” “No food fights,” and “Don’t have a tantrum in the candy aisle”—may not have much effect, but the illustrations in all their different and recognizable styles will amuse young audiences. Grades 2-4. --John Peters