The Rules [Hardcover]

Marty Kelley (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

These days, being a kid means following rules. Lots of rules. Want a piece of cake? You've got to eat your peas first. Getting dressed? Make sure you've got clean underwear on. It's getting so you can't even stick a peanut up your nose without getting in trouble. Where's the payoff? it's right here. Because Marty Kelley, the bestselling author of Fall Is Not Easy and has helpfully written all these rules down in this book--and he's even made 'em rhyme. The Rules is like an etiquette manual for the 21st century. It's filled with admonitions that every kid will recognize, and pictures that are so silly, they might even forget about all those rules--at least for a little while.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Escalating the wry humor shown in his previous work, Fall Is Not Easy (Zino, 1998), Kelley's multiethnic cartoons will tickle kids' fancy while the rhyming text will remind them of grown-ups' directives regarding everything from clean underwear to rubber-band guns. "Eat your peas./Don't swear or curse./Don't scratch, you'll only make it worse." The colorful illustrations depict irreverent interpretations of children breaking those rules, which range from the universally comic (as a boy "enhances" his features while playing with food) to the base (plenty of toilet and runny-nose gags). This bouncy, quick read will be a great icebreaker when talking about safety or parent relationships.
Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This bouncy, quick read will be a great icebreaker when talking about safety or parent relationships. -- School Library Journal

What Jamaica Kincaid does for the culture of the exotic islands of the Caribbean, Marty Kelley does for American culture. -- The Concord (New Hampshire) Monitor

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Zino Pr Childrens Books (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559332840
• ISBN-13: 978-1559332842
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #830,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Ruling for "The Rules", August 30, 2000

By 

John Rozawitz (Goffstown, NH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rules (Hardcover)

This book should strike a familiar chord with most people - it humorously pokes fun at the rules our parents made us follow as children, and that we make our own children follow now. Marty Kelley combines some screamingly funny illustrations (there is a great one referring to wiping your nose!) with clever poetry. The cover illustration alone makes the book worthwhile! The children love it, and don't seem to mind being reminded of the rules that they must follow! What a bonus! I look forward to seeing more work by Marty Kelley!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner by Marty Kelley!, August 30, 2000

By 

Larry Stern (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rules (Hardcover)

"The Rules" is a rhyming book that simultaneously reminds and pokes fun at the rules that children must follow at home. It is accompanied by excellent drawings that illustrate why we all should chew with our mouth closed, wear clean underwear, and not blow milk bubbles with our nose!

This book gave us some great laughs - my kids loved the great drawings, and my wife loved the memories of childhood that were brought back for her!

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun silly book that I almost sent back!, July 18, 2011

By 

jflowe (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rules (Hardcover)

I guess I really didn't read the description very well because I thought this would be a book about manners and making fun of some of them while still teaching the children about them. I was totally wrong! It's a silly book about what not to do, but most of the things listed are things that my children would never do. The things are so silly that they made my children laugh out loud and the drawings are super funny, too. I almost sent the book back and then I decided to keep it. I read it one time to my boys (4 and 8) and that's all it took for me to know that this book was worth keeping. If a book can make my boys laugh and have fun together then it's a great book for me!