Dino Etiquette: How Do Dinosaurs Show Good Manners by Jane Yolen

Some dinosaurs have manners--BAD MANNERS!

Do they belch loudly at the table and throw food at each other,or spit half-chewed broccoli on the floor?

At the library, do they yell and throw books around the stacks?

On the playground, do they push each other off the top of the tallest slide? Do they sass their mothers when they're caught making mudpies in the bathtub?

NO! THEY DON'T!

THEY'RE NEVER THAT CRUDE,

AND TRY NOT TO BE RUDE!

Dinosaurs are the very picture of politeness and the essence of etiquette.

They always say "Please" and "Can I help you with that?" "You can go first. I can wait till you're done." They share toys at play and when they go, say, "Thanks, everyone!"

GOOD MANNERS GALORE, MY POLITE DINOSAUR!

Heaven knows, dinosaurs and kids need to mind their manners wherever they go, in the latest in their best selling series, How Do Dinosaurs Show Good Manners? (Blue Sky Press, 2020). With the Caldecott-winning artist Mark Teague on board with his jolly illustrations of human parents and assorted recalcitrant dino offspring, kids are off for a rhyming good time from notable author Jane Yolen. As always, illustrator Teague uses a variety of esoteric dinosaur "children" just for those geeky youngsters who pride themselves as experts at spotting various species of large prehistoric beasts to add to their paleontological vocabularies. (See the backmatter for dinosaur names in order of appearance)

Thanksgiving! Give Thank You A Try by James Patterson

Every morning Dad always says, "Thank you for being Emma and Olivia.

Thank you for being Jimmy!"

It's always good to think about being thankful, and Dad's words inspire Jimmy to comes up with two things to be grateful for right away--his parents (of course) and PB and J sandwiches in their PJs!

The kids at the table brainstorm things to be thankful for--raindrops on their heads and the petting zoo, and of course, Christmas mornings, and people who remember to say "thank you" and "please" back to them!

And there are lots of little things that make life more pleasant--like a night light at night, a furry kitten to cuddle, some strong shoulders to sit on at the parade, clouds with shapes, and all those happy family moments.

Then there is the teacher who thanks each child for working hard as he says goodbye for the day.

It's never too soon to learn to be thankful, in James Patterson's little manual on manners, Give Thank You a Try (Give Please a Chance) (Patterson Books, 2017), especially when the learning to say and appreciate the emotion of gratitude is the focus.  Being truly thankful is the goal, and this little book may at least give that hope a try.

Everyone's a Comedian! My Teacher Is An Idiom by Jamie Gilson

MIND YOUR MANNERS!

The banner in the lunchroom was new. And red. You couldn't miss it.

A bunch of third graders painted it. They got caught spitting watermelon seeds and cherry pits. The watermelon seeds won.

But manners are far from Richie's mind. He's still at the lunch table, trying to eat without his missing front teeth (thanks to Patrick's gummy candy octopus), when Patrick, who fancies himself a future stand-up comic, sits down. Patrick is usually bad news, and this time he has to show off his latest gag, the Mosquito, sucking Richie's warmish red Jello through a straw and letting it dribble out of his mouth like Dracula. At his urging, Richie reluctantly agrees to give it a try and sucks so hard the Jello goes up his nose, just as the vice-principal, Mr. E., heads over to investigate, and the resulting sneeze spatters all over Mr. E's Sumac School t-shirt.

How does Patrick come up with these goofball schemes? Why does Richie always fall for Patrick's gags? Now they are both in trouble. Mr. E. hauls them to his office, taking the new girl, Sophie from France, along as an eyewitness.

"Sophie," he said. "Tell me, what did these boys do?"

Richie cringes. Now the whole humiliating story of how Patrick got him in trouble once again is going to come out. But Sophie hesitates. And then she decides not to tattle. She shakes her head.

"I am making white cabbage." she said.

Richie and Patrick look confused. But Mr. E. explains that Sophie is using an idiom, which in French means she's drawing a blank on just what happened.

Richie gives Sophie a relieved smile. But Mr. E. still has just the punishment to fit the crime. Richie and Patrick will have to make a speech on good manners to the second- and third-grade assembly on Friday. Richie starts obsessing over the speech, but Patrick sees it as yet another chance to perfect his stand-up comedy routine. And worst of all, his joke-loving father is going to help with the speech. Richie cringes again. This is going to be VERY embarrassing.

And Richie is right. Patrick's dad manages to "crack up" the program, in more ways than one!

Veteran author Jamie Gilson's latest in her Table Two series, My Teacher Is an Idiom (Houghton Mifflin Clarion, 2015) introduces a little wordplay with French and English idioms along with a lesson in lunchroom etiquette for the kids in Mrs. Zookey's second grade, while Paul Meisel's black and white drawings add to the slapstick primary-grade humor. Will Patrick ever learn to put a lid on his pranks? Will Richie ever learn not to get sucked into them? Hopefully, not in this cheery beginning chapter series from a real pro in kid comedy.

Jamie Gilson is also the author of classic comic elementary grade novels such as Thirteen Ways To Sink A Sub by Gilson, Jamie (2014) Paperback and Bug in a Rug Paperback 2003 ]