Mind Your Manners    by Diane Goode Order:  USA  Can Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2005 (2005) Hardcover Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Hilary Williamson This rollicking picture book takes us back to olden times, with a humorous look at good manners. The author mentions that she found the original rules in an old spelling book, and she includes all 35 of them at the back of Mind Your Manners. It opens, 'If ever you are invited ... / ... to dine with the Abbotts ... / ... always remember to ... / ... mind your manners!' As the invitees (a little boy and his family) try to mind their manners, their hosts - and especially the hosts' pet dogs and cats - break every rule in the book, in a series of greedy scenes reminiscent of Tom Jones. Here's a delightfully archaic example: 'Pick not thy teeth at the table, unless holding thy napkin before thy mouth with thine other hand.' Kids and adults will chuckle alike over these detailed rules of decorum (which are generally still good ones), and little ones will delight in pointing out everyone who's not minding their manners in this amusing picture book. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews