Review of Terrible, Horrible, Awful Manners

Terrible, Horrible, Awful Manners is a hilarious look at so many children today. Pete is a young monkey whose manners leave a lot to be desired. He burps. He toots. He picks his nose. And he never says thank you or please. No matter what anyone says or does, he refuses to change his ways because he loves the attention and thinks he is hilarious. One day at dinner, his parents decide to turn the tables on him. His father starts burping. Mom is tooting. And the baby is picking her nose!

Pete is horrified and calls everyone out on their horrible manners. They tell him that they were just mimicking him. He pauses and thinks for a minute before deciding that maybe he should try a little harder. And for the most part, he does.

I love this book because it reminds me so much of several young boys I know. They are the first ones to break the rules, and also the first to point out the mistakes of others. They don't seem to recognize that behavior in themselves and are horrified at seeing it in others. But sometimes it is a good lesson for them to witness it and have it pointed out to them.

I shared this book with children from ages 3-8. The 8 year-old thought the book was absolutely hilarious and giggled the whole way through it. The 3-6 year-olds in my class had the most appalled looks on their faces as the various characters burped and tooted their way through the book. The nice thing was, it provided a great basis for conversation about proper manners and behavior in the classroom.

It is a great book to use in the classroom as well as in the home. Children will enjoy the comedy of it while also learning important life lessons. I give it 5 stars.





I received a complimentary set of galleys from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my review.