Manners at a Restaurant

Children's Literature

Most adults will tell you that unmannerly children in restaurants are a great inconvenience. DeGezelle presents a straightforward and simple list of rules of behavior when dining out. The book follows two children as they join their grandparents for dinner. Very short chapters detail the need to be respectful, polite, patient, considerate and neat while at the restaurant. Very nice but rather staged-looking photographs illustrate the desired behaviors. While few children would choose this book solely for entertainment, it would make a nice read-along for parents and children, or teachers and students. The book does include a few fun facts—in the U.S., fried chicken is the most popular restaurant food. The last few pages contain an "Amazing but True!" fact and a game to practice good manners. Also included are a table of contents, glossary and lists of suggested books and websites. This book is part of a series of "First Facts" books on manners that includes other titles such as Manners in the Classroom and Manners on the Playground. This is a serviceable, if not exciting, venture into the land of teaching children good manners. 2005, Capstone Press, Ages 5 to 10.
—Sharon Oliver