Customer Reviews

Table Manners

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For all parents who sit at mealtime giving directives, shaking their heads, and sighing as they watch their children chow down, there is finally a book about table manners kids will just eat up. Chris Raschka and Vladimir Radunsky have provided the logical reasons in word and art, for all those things you've been telling your kids for years...please chew with your mouth closed, don't play with your food, use your napkin, wash your hands before you come to the table, no dessert until you eat your vegetables... Written in hip, kid-speak language, their hilarious text is complemented by bold, bright and expressive artwork that will have readers laughing out loud and rolling in the aisles. Perfect for kids 4-8, Table Manners is a high spirited, manic romp through the ins and outs of basic eating skills, and youngsters will have such a good time poring over this busy book, they may not even realize there are subtle messages and simple lessons behind all the fun.

My 4 and 5 years giggle non-stop when I read the quiz and they pick the most absurd option for the kid's manners at the restaurant. My kids understand what is nonsense and what is good manners.....what a FUN way to present this!!! My 5 year old loved the book so much he insisted we give it to his preschool for their library. What is more fun is to extend the silliness to actual learning of good manners at the table. It is certainly more fun to laugh as you correct your kids manners than to be sour and strict.

When it comes to subject of table manners, you can hear thousands of parents letting out a bitter sigh. It's no fun to each your kids to eat right, much less to do it with grace and elegance. Giving instructions endlessly and correcting tirelessly only works for so long, quickly turning into pickle-sour experience. It becomes a chore and no one likes it.
Another story is to read this book - it's very funny on so many levels. It gives silly answers to silly questions, it gives fine examples of bad table manners, it sneaks up on you with a multiple choice quiz, dazzles you with crazy and over the top illustrations, and in the meantime it teaches your kid all the right stuff without you breaking a sweat. It's a great fun to read together, and has too many fun details to become boring after many many comebacks.
I definitely recommend this book, not only because of its educational value, but because it's ultimately fun and is a fine work of bookmaking art.
To some of the people commenting before me, I can only say - not every book for children should have square morals, and be highly educational.
The art of being silly and nurturing your inner child is just as important as the art of manipulating your fork and knife. But it offers you more - it may easily add a few fun years to your life span... :)

If you want a book to read that's silly, humorous, and teaches a good idea, then you will love Table Manners by Chris Raschka and Vladimir Radunsky. This book takes table manners to the extreme and tells kids what not to do, and then what is proper. The book is somewhat believable, like don't talk with your mouth full. Other things are just nonsense like if you talk with food in your mouth then your mother's hair will be covered in colored sprinkles. Chester is trying to teach Dudunya about table manners, but sometimes it's hard because he takes things literally. These characters have two sides in showing their bad table manners and what not to do, and then showing their good manners. The characters' conversation was very real, but always silly. There was no real setting to the book. This book is hilarious, and has you turning it upside down to read, kids could learn something about table manners in a fun way from this book. Kids will read this book over and over!

I've had this book for sometime (bought based on the first recommendation here ...), but found it hard to characterize this book: the humor seems to gear towards the young adolescent reader, the content--simple, simple instructions on table manners--seems to aim at the 2 or 3 year olds, the art work in the book (and the odd inclusion of photographs of headshots) seems to beg for appreciation from an adult reader (and it is not my cup of tea). I suggest that before you shell out ... look through the sample pages here to make sure that this is for you.

This book on table manners has charming art and dryly funny text -- for an adult. The manners taught in it are way, way too simple for anyone but a 2 year old (eat with a spoon--not your hands, wipe on the napkin--not your sleeve, Don't put food in your hair), while the pictures and text are far too advanced for a two year old. A Ten year old might be tickled by the elaborate Russian names, but a child young enough for those lessons can barely talk yet. I bought Tiffany's Table Manners instead, and while it describes too many advanced manners for young children, it has a sufficiency of the ones they need, with plenty more to grow into.

I can understand wanting to make the subject of manners funny in order to get children interested, but this book is more likely to cause bad manners than good. One does not say "Good Lord" to be polite and yet its the voice of the "teacher" in the book saying this (I can just imagine my 4 year old running around the house saying it just because he'll think its funny, not going to happen, this book goes back to the library). Many of the lists of what not to do will become ideas of what to do for naughty little ones and while that IS funny, it doesn't help with manners.

Also, each page is so chaotic I couldn't bring myself to completely look at the book. There may be something good in there, but I'm repelled. But I did look at it long enough to know that if you are looking for a book that is more fun and naughtiness than good manners, this is it.