Lynn Munsinger

Manners mash-up: A goofy guide to good behavior by various authors

This book is just plain fun. In the style of their previous collaborations, Why did the chicken cross the road? and Knock, Knock! Fourteen illustrators give their take on etiquette.
Bob Shea instructs readers on the proper way to ride a school bus – no drooling and don’t clean the driver’s teeth, even if he’s a crocodile!
Lynn Munsinger illustrates proper cafeteria manners, although her furry pigs don’t seem to be show more following her good advice.
Henry Cole warns against staring – even when you see some pretty funny/icky stuff, especially in the school office.
Leuyen Pham has a sweet spread on playground manners.
Peter Reynolds illustrates classroom manners with several groups of excellently behaved children and dialogue that sounds like it was written for a teaching special on listening to teacher.
Tedd Arnold blasts off into outer space and illustrates good sportsmanship with slug-like aliens playing slime ball.
Adam Rex shows a hapless evil scientist trying to instill a few good table manners into his evil monster creations.
Judy Schachner has a warm and colorful spread of good manners at a happy birthday party with a huge variety of children and activities pictured.
Frank Morrison gives good advice for being a good visitor – which the wild group of kids in the living room don’t seem to have listened to!
Sophie Blackall has a darkly humorous illustration of what not to do in a doctor’s office, including the instruction “prosthetic legs aren’t toys.”
Dan Santat instructs on proper behavior at the theater – even when it’s grand opera!
Joe Berger shows some of the things you should NEVER do in a grocery store.
Kevin Sherry gives pool rules, which should be followed even by giant squids.
Tao Nyeu has a beautifully embroidered spread…about not picking in public, noses, toenails, etc.
The final pages give the authors a chance to talk about their goofiest manners mishap and gives a brief list of each author's titles.

Verdict: This is an amusing book that kids will enjoy looking over, but it’s not particularly substantial and there’s no actual plot to make it a good read-aloud. An additional purchase.

ISBN: 978-0803734807; Published February 2011 by Dial; Borrowed from the library show less

This book is created by 14 different authors and illustrators. They each have two pages where they illustrate with their own unique style and write about the correct manners to have within certain contexts. This is a fantasy book because it features animals talking and acting like humans and not all of the laws of nature pertain to it. This book is an example of fantasy because the illustrations depict non-human things interacting and participating in human like activities. The one main show more thing that I didn't like was that although it was funny, it was pretty negative. Don't do this, don't do that. I see how kids would find it funny and its a comical way to talk abut manners but they could have focused more on DO rather than DON'T. show less

Arnold, T. (2010). Manners mash-up: a goofy guide to good behavior: Story and pictures. New York, N.Y: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Using the same formula as their successful 2006 Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road, Dial has created another very humorous look at manners. Individual children’s book illustrators are given one single set of manners to illustrate in his or her own style (“Be a Good Visitor,” “Bus Manners,” etc.). This is a creative and funny way to remind elementary show more school students of how they should and should not behave. Each illustrator does an impressive job of bringing out comedic elements in the scene he/she has created. Could be used to show students the importance of illustrators in children’s literature. Very useful for grades K-5, but target audience would be 1st-3rd. show less

This book is perfect, I like that it was all over the place being funny/silly yet it taught manners. I believe this is a great book for children and their parents to read. It is fun and goofy but very educational.