Summary: Estie is a terrible child. She does not like to be polite to people, she acts like animals, and she does not listen to her parents or grandmother. Her parents and grandmother are constantly telling Estie to be a "mensch" (a person), but Estie gets angry and does not want to. One day Estie and her grandmother went to the zoo to meet her grandmother's friend and her grandchild, Petie. Petie began talking to Estie and Estie did not want to talk, but as the day went on Estie and Petie began laughing and playing together. At the end of the day they both got ice cream, but Petie's fell to the ground. Estie ended up offering him some of her ice cream, and she enjoyed being nice.

Review: Kohuth writes an amazing story about being kind to others. Often times children have a difficult time communicating with their peers if they do not feel like they have anything in common. Estie did not like Petie at first because she did not know him, but they found out that they liked animals together and that helped spark conversation. At the end of the story when Estie gave Petie her ice cream, she realized that she liked being nice to Petie because it made her feel good inside. Kindness can go a long way and it can sometimes surprise us! ( )

Estie is a charming mensch. ( )