unnecessarily rude book about manners
936532
I get that it's funny/shocking for kids and I love all the illustrators.  But the manners pointers are so rude.  Is this necessary?

AT THE THEATER: Please don't pick your nose and leave the boogers under the seat.  That spot is saved for old chewed gum wads only.  Yummy! Yummy!
AT THE POOL: We don't swim in your toilet, so please don't pee in our pool.
DON'T PICK IN PUBLIC:  The whole page.  Beautiful illustrations... but so gross.
ON THE BUS: Say excuse me when you make a smell.

We prefer these manners books:&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Manners/dp/0688045790/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Manners</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Oops-Excuse-Me-Please-And-Other-Mannerly-Tales/dp/0764150839/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Oops! Excuse Me! Please!: And Other Mannerly Tales</a>, among others.
1062651
We live in a world where we need to teach our boys and girls about the importance of consent- not just "no means no" but "you must have an enthusiastic 'yes!'" I sat down to read this book with my daughter and we flipped to a middle story about a princess who has trouble with sports. A frog helps train her and then tells her, "I'll be your best friend, Wendy-- just kiss me." Which, hello, is creepy. Isn't this exactly the kind of conversation we're trying to tell our teenagers and young adults is a load of manipulative crap? Why would I normalize this to my small child? Even worse, after he says that, the book says, "So Wendy bent down and kissed the frog. She didn't really want to, but after all, he had been very kind to her--"

.... WHAT? It might seem like a 'harmless fairy tale trope' to some, but I absolutely don't think so. How do you think kids end up growing up with ideas like "I felt like I owed them" or "I was nice to them/was their friend/bought them dinner, they owe me"? If I want to raise a daughter with the belief that you don't owe anyone for things they give willingly and you CERTAINLY don't owe them your body just because they want it, why would I ever read this to her? I changed the scene on the fly with a new ending and thought I'd give one more story a try.

In the next story, it didn't get any better. A princess throws her arms around the person she has an affection for and kisses him out of the blue to break her curse. The book illustrates him sitting up straight and stiff with wide eyes. Thankfully, because I actually talk to my daughter about consent and respect, when she saw the picture, she shouted "Hey! She didn't ask for permission to kiss! Look at his body language! He doesn't want a kiss!" I told her how proud of her I was that she saw that and that she spoke up about it so firmly. I closed the book and we will not be reading this one again.

Consent is not that complicated. I would never recommend material like this that implicitly states 'she didn't want to, but felt like she owed him' on one page, and then shows people grabbing someone who is startled and doing things to them without their permission. This book never once challenged those events or suggested they were problematic. WAY better material available out there that doesn't include troubling messages like these. As I flipped through other pages on my own, I saw other issues like strange edits and jumps in stories that were so big that made it seem like pages were missing. Low quality technical word, low quality stories, mean plot points, typical binary gendering crap, stereotypical gender tropes, and shocking anti-consent messages? This book is a total mess in all the worst ways.
2905327
This book, written by a male is pretty immature. Flipping through it (I returned it after doing so) I noted that the advice for dealing with "mean girls" were smart and snarky retorts. Boys, makeup, etc. were addressed and I did not agree with the advice. I would not recommend this book for anyone.
2144246
It is sad that they don't show you the dialogue, so you feel you are getting a book about good manners...but in reality, the little bear compares himself throughout the book with his badly behaved cousin, so it ends up being a book about comparing yourself to others and feeling superior because of your better manners. There was no need to put in the comparison ON EVERY PAGE, as simply stating what is good to do would have been enough. I regret getting the book and will toss it out.
4093783
I did not like the characters at all - arrogant, self-absorbed, mean-spirited, manipulative.  Was the purpose of this book to show how nasty people can be?  I prefer to read about characters with some shred of human decency.
1832882
If being irreverent is stating that Parisian waiters can be rude, then I've missed the point of this book somewhere. Everbody KNOWS that Parisian waiters can be rude. Just be rude back!
I can't help feeling that Alexander F. Lobrano (Heidi Ellison in the first edition) have just dug around to exaggerate the things they don't like, and played down (or even omitted) the good things. For example, in a section marked 'Secret Gardens', how can Parc Andre Citroen be considered secret and Jardins Albert Kahn completely missed? It makes a mockery of claiming to be a true guide. Much better (if you're French-speaking) to get yourself a copy of 'Paris inattendu' by Michel Dansel. You get the truth AND a lot of fresh information.
1188667
I'm torn.  I hate this book about as much as it is possible to hate something that is not showing up at your door to date your daughter.  My son thinks its hilarious.

I find the story to be forced and awkward.  The grammar to be non-existent.  The editing was probably done by a family pet.  I'm not certain, but I'm  pretty sure the actual book was printed in someone's Grandma's basement on her old 1997, greyscale printer and then stapled together by a toddler.
I'm actually feeling kind of bad about myself for such a harsh review, because I suspect this book is actually a first effort at publishing by a 4 year old who was raised by illiterate wolves.  Normally I'd admire that sort of grit, but UGGHHH this book is awful.

My son thinks the book is great though.  Mostly, I suspect, because the word 'fart' is clearly printed on the cover.  Its a guaranteed crowd pleaser when dealing with 9 year old boys.

Although I fear being called to trial in the Hague for encouraging any more books like this, as long as you don't have to actually read it along with your kid and said kid is still young enough to be pleased with no more than owning something with the word 'fart' on the cover, go ahead and get this book.

This terrible, terrible, godawful, low quality, miserable excuse of a book.
2949139
While I will say that the illastrations were lovely, and the text paints a very cute picture of a stuborn yet cute toddler, I have to say that this book was put up high on a shelf and will not be read again any time soon.  WHY?  Because throughout the book, Ella Sarah gets her way by being consistantly disobedient to her parents and older sibling, and throws (in my opinion) a temper tantrum to get her way! but in the end her BAD behavior is considered "CUTE" because after all, its more important to express your individuality.

During the reading of this book to my toddler, I had to repeatedly stop and explain to him that he should never act in this way and he is much more likely to get his way by simply asking permission than by making rude demands, throwing his toys, and talking back to get his way.

It is very disappointing that a book like this received an acclaimed childrens literature award. The behavior that is portrayed and treated as acceptable (while it may be cute to Grandma) is not behavior I believe most parents would truly tolerate from their toddler.
4126588
This book was free, and I still don't think it was worth the price!  It was not even a little bit funny and just offensive.  If you find an arrogant jerk bragging about how rude and cruel he can be, then by all means, read this.
891808
I usually buy books after having first checked a copy out from the library and proofing it. However, I failed to do it with this one Because I liked several of the authors other manner books so I didn't think it was necessary. That was a mistake. The mouse in the story is unaware of what being sorry actually is. Each time the mouse does something thoughtless and rude he throws out a "SORRY" which has the feel of a little kid being forced to say it to a sibling after a fight. You know the voice!  Truly there is a difference between "SORRY"  and "I'm sorry".  Like a previous reviewer I also had to interject my own wording to explain the mouse's actions to my child. Pass on this book.
3300711
I thought the book would be a story where pooh learned about manners, like  excusing your self before you leave the dinner table, but it's not. On one  page there is one to two etiquette tips about two sentences long.  On the  next page there is a quick little skit with pooh and his friends, that in  my opinion could have been written a little better to explain the tip on  the opposite page.
2060745
To sum up as succinctly as I can: not cute.

This was one of the most aggravating, childish books I have ever had to drag my eyes across. I really don't understand the high ratings -- the author is insufferable, lazy, self-aggrandizing, unapologetic, and above all tedious. The narration makes sense when she begins with her childhood, so the chronic self-centeredness feels like a justified match given her age at the time, but then suddenly she's married? With a child? And continually blaming others for her allegedly zany mishaps, making excuses, or else telling the world "you're welcome" simply because she has made others' lives more difficult? Please. Her desire to write this book comes from such an obviously selfish, self-satisfied place that you wonder how on earth she could have grown up to think her little stories are THIS important. If you claim to relate to her on any level, I have unfortunate news for you: you are deeply, deeply obnoxious.

I was genuinely annoyed while reading this book. In fact, I forced myself to finish it so as not to give the author the "pleasure" of driving me off "like all the others," as she would doubtless claim. Fake editors notes are not the mark of a quality read, and I should have acted on my revulsion from the get-go. Skip.
2857175
My wife ordered these for our seven year old son after a friend of his said he enjoyed them. I don't know how Scholastic ever thought publishing these was a good idea. Purposefully misspelled words, words like "Butt", "Fart" and other words we teach our son are unacceptable, rudeness to adults, making fun of other children, all the wrong lessons for a child to learn. These ended up in the recycle bin after reading half of the first one. No positive lessons at all for children here. Crass, rude and vulgar.
1313530
Apparently, somehow, this book is not satire. You might think it is based on the fact that the pages are violently pink and aggressively floral, or that it's punctuated with twee "Dear Diary!" entries chroncling how this dwarf needs a makeover, and that elf likes her shoes, or that the book helpfully includes three different definitions of the word "mini" (it means a miniature! Who could have guessed?) in the first thirty pages, but no, it's not satire. It's just a disgustingly sexist, insulting piece of condescension for women whose tiny brains can't understand anything that's not related to shoes and designer bags and boys, or isn't presented in a kooky font. It gives a basic overview of the information contained in the Player's Handbook, but the Player's Handbook is clearly designed for men, and women wouldn't be able to follow it, so naturally Shelly Mazzanoble wrote this hot pink garbage to assure women that D&D isn't just for hopeless basement dwelling neckbeards, and spends chapter after chapter trying to convince me, a self-obsessed, frivolous, shopoholic, chronic dieter, who is reading this book on the treadmill (but not too much because I don't want unsightly muscles bulging out of my skinny jeans) that this is indeed the case. She assures me that I won't have to consume "full sugar soda" and wreck my diet (I can always bring along a baggie of Kashi cereal!), and that someone can help me with the difficult math (she literally says that she hasn't done that much math since her all day shopping trip at the mall). Every sentence is more infuriating than the last, from the Clueless-esque quips about "fashion challenged" dwarfs to the nauseating jokes about bad perms and shoes. I think the editor must have removed the "teehee!" that I'm 100% sure Shelly Mazzanoble adds after every sentence she writes, speaks, and thinks. I haven't confirmed this, but I'm assuming that the author isn't really a human woman, but three small internet trolls in a trenchcoat. Investigations are continuing.

Essentially the book fundamentally understands why women aren't flocking to D&D. The author thinks it's because the game is simply not attractive to women because it's not pink enough, nobody talks about shoes, and it's too hard for women to understand. She's wrong. The reason women aren't flocking to D&D is because when this book was pitched to the Wizards of the Coast, someone somewhere thought it was a good idea.
1442230
I almost bought this book from a Scholastic order through my daughter's school b/c she LOVES pink, however another mom and I were talking and she warned me about this book, stating she had ordered it and was appalled by its content. I marked it off my order and instead looked through it at the bookstore and boy was I glad I didn't order it. The other 1 star reviews are ALL absolutely right about this book. This book is just full of bad messages for children. I am all for fun, silly books for children, but I didn't find this book to be either of those, more of a "how-to" book on bad behavior, bad eating habits, disrespecting your parents and being a brat!!!
4406361
Have you read Junie B Jones? I just purchased the box set and began reading them to my kindergartener. I was horrified from the beginning at the very attitude and rude, ignorant spirit of Junie B Jones. She hates her name, the bus, the people on it, the teacher and her new school. What a negative thing to meet someone on the bus and instantly HATE them. Is this the kind of human interactions that we should be teaching our children? She yells, throws fits and generally has attitude about everything. The grammer is written from a 6 year old's perspective, which does nothing to educate our children about the way things should be phrased. This is not the picture of kindergarten, nor the worldview that I would suggest to my children or anyone else's for that matter. After 4 chapters, the entire series is in the trash as a waste of money. Think twice about what you are reading to your impressionable young children (or letting them read for themselves!) Would give zero stars if I could.
1910820
I struggle giving this book such a low review. I grew up LOVING this book! But, upon reading it with my 3 year old, I find it uncomfortable and unacceptable. Every character and story is a racial stereotype, the names are downright offensive, it is very Eurocentric, and most (all?) of the main characters are male. I do not want to continue this outdated, flat, over-simplified view of world cultures with my son. This book is being retired in our home, regardless of how cute the pictures are, how easy and fun it is for my son, and how fond my own memories of the book are.