"Always Wear Clean Underwear!": And Other Ways Parents Say "I Love You" [Paperback]

Marc Gellman (Author), Debbie Tilley (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2000 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Clean your plate.
Stand up straight.
Call if you're going to be late.

Part of being a kid is having grown-ups make you do things you hate--like eating your vegetables, taking out the garbage, and walking the dog. Then, to make matters worse, they say you can't do things that are no big deal-like talking with your mouth full or wearing dirty underwear. And worst of all? You have to listen to them say it not once, not twice, but a zillion times.

When Marc Gellman put together a list of your parents' favorite do's and don'ts, he made a big discovery: Each thing on The List has a hidden meaning that helps you get through life. And love is the reason for everything on The List. So if you already wear clean underwear, here are thirty-one more tips to help you understand some of the crazy ways that parents try to say, "I love you."

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6. Gellman's warm, witty, and instructive primer for children about the whys and wherefores of parenting will help them understand their parents' motivations for discipline. The author describes his own childhood frustration and curiosity with his mother's endless injunctions to eat his vegetables (especially the dreaded green-bean casserole), to share his toys, clean his room, take out the trash, and not to hit his sister. When he became a parent, Gellman came to realize that such commands are part of a greater master catalogue that he calls "The List." In lighthearted but sincere prose, he explains that items found on this record of seemingly endless commandments have little meanings and big meanings. Each of the 30+ short chapters is devoted to one of these parental injunctions children hear while growing up to be good people. The author explains reasons for each rule and brings more than a little wisdom and often gentle humor to the process. His explanations are so lucid and insightful that this wise and refreshing book will be great for shared reading. Tilley's occasional small cartoons add another note of levity.?Jerry D. Flack, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Behind a mask of frivolity--a ticklish title and Debbie Tilley's whimsical cover art--lurks a stern schoolmarm. Each item on "The List" of 32 annoying parental admonitions stands for a really Big Lesson. (Ages 8 and older) -- The New York Times Book Review, J. Patrick Lewis --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (September 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688171125
• ISBN-13: 978-0688171124
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Health, Mind & Body > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars funny but very helpful!, November 15, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: "Always Wear Clean Underwear!": And Other Ways Parents Say "I Love You" (Paperback)

This book is awsome! it takes what us kids call"the list". If you are any kid who has parents then you'll know what i'm talkin about. they always tell you, always wear clean undewear, take out the garbage, and keep your feet off the couch, the stuff kids hate to do. but really parents have a reasonable explanation for all these things. In this book it tells you the big reasons and the small reasons. to find out hwhyparents have all these crazy rules read Always wear clean underwear by mark gellman

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, September 27, 2001

By 

R. J. Karlin "cmdrkranil" (Olathe, Kansas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: "Always Wear Clean Underwear!": And Other Ways Parents Say "I Love You" (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book about core values, written in a humourous, yet serious, style. My two sons, ages 14 and 17, even enjoyed it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Always Wear Clean Underwear, November 15, 2002

By 

Madi Hurwitz (Holland P.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "Always Wear Clean Underwear!": And Other Ways Parents Say "I Love You" (Paperback)

Do you wear clean underwear? "Always wear clean underwear" thats what parents say! Always Wear Clean Underwear by Marc Gellman is a very funny book (don't get me wrong, it also teaches you very important lessons!) In this book it not only teaches you about wearing clean underwear it teaches you thing that kids don't under stand about PARENTS such as.... "eat your vegetables" "don't talk with your mouth full" Things like that! I just read this book for the first time and when I read it i fell in love with it. "Always wear clean underwear" is my all time favorite book. To learn more funny and interesting facts about this book, BYE IT! I would recomened this book to people of all ages! I love it!!