Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* From the gleeful title pun to the kinetic illustrations, this clever book from the creator of Open Wide: Tooth School Inside (2000) introduces the golden rule with irresistible humor. Mr. Rabbit is worried about life with his new neighbors, the Otter family: I don't know anything about otters. What if we don't get along? Then a wise bird introduces Mr. Rabbit to a favorite saying: Do unto otters as you would have otters do unto you. As Rabbit ponders how he would like to be treated, he covers the basics of polite and responsible behavior, from saying a cheerful hello and please and thank you to being honest, considerate, and kind. The clean design features well-placed arrows and other visual cues to help children quickly jump through the multiple images on each page, a feature that, combined with the wildly expressive cartoon-style animal characters, makes the scenes feel like part of an animated film. As usual, Keller packs the tale with unabashedly goofy puns, jokes, and even a few fart references, and the sheer silliness and well-tuned comic timing of it all will easily pull kids into the clearly explained concepts. Pair this sly, intelligent guide to etiquette with other equally unstuffy picture-book titles in the adjacent Read-alikes: Mind Your Manners. --Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Keller's (The Scrambled States of America) latest offers lessons in the social graces, featuring Mr. Rabbit and his whiskery new neighbors, the otters. "I don't know anything about otters," the pink-eyed, pink-nosed protagonist agonizes. "What if we don't get along?" At this, a bookish owl pops in from the margin with an apt take on the Golden Rule: "Do unto otters as you would have otters do unto you." Hmmm...," muses Mr. Rabbit, "How would I like otters to treat me?" When he opines, "I'd like otters to be polite," a gray otter in polka-dot shorts demonstrates how to say "please" in five languages (counting Pig Latin), then does the same for "thank you" and the indispensable "excuse me." Later, the smiling otters "co-otter-ate" and help friends move a heavy log. Even disagreements can be managed. Keller loads her acrylic-on-paper images with comical asides and tangential conversations, and goggle eyes, rubbery smiles and rounded teeth suggest her cast's goofball personalities; no mistaking them for Little Lord Fauntleroys. Without prescribing perfect etiquette, Keller serves up sound, friendly advice for maintaining a peaceable kingdom. Ages 5-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Mr. Rabbit is worried that he might not get along with his new neighbors. A wise owl gives him the advice, "Do unto otters as you would have otters do unto you" and proceeds to explain what this means. Thus follows a listing of traits and qualities such as friendliness, politeness, honesty, consideration, cooperation, and sharing. Each one contains humorous examples of Mr. Rabbit and the Otters following those rules. Also included are samples of how to say certain phrases such as "Excuse me" and "Please" in Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Pig Latin. Each page bursts with colorful illustrations and is scattered with words of different sizes and fonts. This simple story is certain to appeal to children.-Donna Atmur, Los Angeles Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
When a dubious rabbit discovers his new neighbors, a family of otters, a helpful owl prompts him to think about ways to ensure they'll all get along. "Treat otters the same way I'd like otters to treat me? . . . I'd like otters to be friendly. A cheerful hello, a nice smile, and good eye contact are all part of being friendly." Being polite, saying thank you and excuse me, being honest and considerate and cooperative all follow as traits and behaviors the rabbit would like to see, accompanied by examples of each, setting the stage for amicable neighborly relations. Keller's animals cavort across the page in a pleasingly varied design, the humor in their bug eyes and big noses helping to keep the tone light. Aiding this is a generous helping of silliness in the examples of good behavior--included among the enumeration of considerate actions is "helping neighbors untangle ears." While kids may well have encountered the Golden Rule elsewhere, this explanation and elaboration nicely unifies what might otherwise seem like a dreary list of manners. This lively book is anything but. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
