Booktalk: Dude, That's Rude! [Manners; 1]

[Hold up prop, like a holiday-themed sweater you don’t like or an ugly vase.] I love my grandmother, but every year for the holidays I get a sweater that is way too big. What’s worse, I have to unwrap it right in front of her. Now, I’m going to tell you a secret. I don’t like this sweater at all. What should I say to her when I open it? [Wait for responses.] Okay, who said, “Grandma, you have awful taste?” Dude, that’s rude! [Hold up book cover.] You guessed the title of my book: Dude, That’s Rude. It’s a manners guide, but it’s hilarious. Guess what it told me. It told me that some sincere “thank you” is the only acceptable response. Your family deserves your best manners, no matter what. I don’t have to love the sweater or even keep it. I do have to show grandma that I appreciate her kindness.

Now, that was the tame part of the book. Part of this I can’t read you: it deals with passing gas, cellphone manners, IM manners, use of bad words, and …. toilet etiquette. It’s stuff you need to know but other people might be too afraid to tell you. It’s all funny but true, and it teaches you how to get out of some tricky situations. Dude, That’s Rude! Get Some Manners by Pamela Espeland and Elizabeth Verdick.

Dude, That’s Rude! Get Some Manners by Pamela Espeland and Elizabeth Verdick. 117 p. Free Spirit Publishing, 2007. Booktalk to 3^rd through middle school.