Manners on the Playground (Way to be!: Manners)

Description

Why do you have to take turns on the swings? Find out how good manners make the playground safe and fun for everyone.

Each title offers nine examples of good manners, one per spread. The writing is clear, no-nonsense. The correct behavior is highlighted through an example--Elliot waits his turn to ride the swing--followed by the sentence He 1 is using good manners, which strengthens the message. Yet this style wears a bit thin by the end of the book. Upbeat, well-mannered (no doubt) children of different ethnicities are shown on the endpapers and throughout. The digitally created illustrations are large, colorful, and interesting, helping to highlight the lessons. Each book has a useless index and Fun Facts page. One fun fact is that in Tibet, people enjoy watching yak racing (Playground). Fun? Perhaps. Relevant? Not really. The Good Manners series (Capstone) offers similar information in a smaller format, with photographs of children participating in polite conduct. Finn's titles are, all told, pleasing-to-the-eye introductions to correct behavior, especially suitable for classroom use.-- "School Library Journal" I personally found these books to be interesting and educational and couldn't wait till my son was old enough to really get what these books were about. Well I didn't have to wait that long to see them in action. I recently had my four year old niece over and she found these books on the shelf and couldn't stop having them read to her. She loved them. Over and over she had us read them and every time when we asked her questions she got it. These books definitely taught her some lessons that I know she will take advantage of when she goes to school in the fall.-- "A Blog of Books"