Social Manners

Why should you chew with your mouth closed? Find out how good manners make mealtime nice for everyone.

This is a book about a bad seed. How bad? Do you really want to know? He has a bad temper, bad manners, and a bad attitude. He’s been bad since he can remember! This seed cuts in line every time, stares at everybody, and never listens. But what happens when one mischievous little seed changes his mind about himself, and decides that he wants to be - happy? Here is a funny yet touching tale that reminds us of the remarkably transformative power of will, acceptance, and just being you.

Once in a generation, the effluvia strikes, and it affects everyone differently. Missy wakes one morning to find the upside-down house is...right-side up? It's not long before Missy has to quarantine the house. Meanwhile, she's still fielding calls from worried parents, and Louie can't keep his sticky fingers from taking other people's things!

Missy Piggle-Wiggle is finally starting to feel settled in at the upside-down house, and the families in town have come to trust her magical cures for all sorts of childhood (mis)behavior, just like her great-aunt. But right when everything is going so well, a terrible storm blasts through Little Spring Valley, damaging the upside-down house. Now the house is in need of repair (and isn't happy about it one bit), and money is becoming pretty tight for Missy. And, on top of that, the children of Little Spring Valley continue to need Missy's inventive cures....

The kids in room 207 don't know how lucky they are to have a nice teacher like Miss Nelson - until their misbehavior causes her disappearance, and they get Miss Viola Swamp for a substitute.

The Sour Grape holds grudges for every reason under the sun. Lime never returned a scarf they borrowed? Grudge! Orange never called back? Grudge! But when a friend holds a grudge against the Sour Grape without listening to an explanation, the Sour Grape realizes how unfair grudges can be. Could a bunch of forgiveness and compassion be enough to turn a sour grape sweet?

The Couch Potato has everything within reach and doesn't have to move from the sunken couch cushion. But when the electricity goes out, Couch Potato is forced to peel away from the comforts of the living room and venture outside. Could fresh air and sunshine possibly be better than the views on screen? Listeners of all ages will laugh along as their new best spuddy learns that balancing screen time and playtime is the root to true happiness.

Refinement of Manner will set you on a journey to a finer, more elegant lifestyle, while encouraging and challenging you to become the best person you can be in all areas of life. Social, career, financial, home life... you can balance it all with grace, poise, and talent you never thought you had. This is your way to a greater, more fascinating you! This is the book on becoming beyond mannerly to absolutely elegant and refined. Here are the tools to becoming a refined elegant woman of the 21st century.

Harriet Manners knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a “jiffy” lasts a hundredth of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. She knows that bats always turn left when exiting a cave and that peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. But she doesn’t know why nobody at school seems to like her. So when Harriet is spotted by a top model agent, she grabs the chance to reinvent herself.

Pete the Cat and his friends are busy as can be baking cupcakes for a party, and Pete can’t wait to perform with his groovy band. But some of the cupcakes have gone missing! Who could have taken them?

When Pigeon finds a delicious hot dog, he can’t wait to devour it. But then along comes a sly duckling who wants a bite. Who will be the more clever bird?

This cookie has never felt like a smart cookie no matter how hard she tries, especially in comparison to all the clever cupcakes and brilliant rolls in the bakery. Will a dash of creativity and a sprinkle of confidence be enough to help her learn that perfect scores and having all the answers aren’t the only ingredients for intelligence?

Everyone knows the cool beans. They’re sooooo cool. And then there’s the uncool has-bean.... Always on the sidelines, one bean unsuccessfully tries everything he can to fit in with the crowd - until one day the cool beans show him how it’s done. With equal measures of humor, wit, and charm, the number one New York Times best-selling Jory John crafts another incredible story, reminding us that it’s cooler to be kind.

Campbell Flynn, art historian, professor, and fêted fixture of the literati, always knew that when his life came crashing down, it would happen in public—yet he never imagined that a single year in London would expose so much. He’s never taken other people half as seriously as they take themselves, which is the first of his mistakes. The second is a new project: opportunistic and precisely calibrated to rake in a fortune.

Melvin throws fit after fit when he doesn't get what he wants. He must learn how to deal with disappointment. After all, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

Amelia Bedelia and her friends are at a school event when they accidentally hurt the feelings of Candy, the new girl in their class. To save their annual ice cream party, Amelia Bedelia and her friends must learn (and practice!) a thing or two about manners, kindness, being polite, and being a good friend.

With Manners Will Take You Where Brains and Money Won't, Donald James goes beyond handshakes and thank-you notes to explain how the true definition of manners is the authentic and genuine way we show up in the world. With inspiring and thought-provoking stories from his 35 years in public affairs and education at NASA, and guided by the lessons his mother taught him, Donald explains how having good manners is a key ingredient to finding purpose, fulfillment, and meaning in business and in life.

Penguin must learn to say please.

Meet the good egg. He’s a verrrrrry good egg indeed. But trying to be so good is hard when everyone else is plain ol’ rotten. As the other eggs in the dozen behave badly, the good egg starts to crack from all the pressure of feeling like he has to be perfect. So, he decides enough is enough! It’s time for him to make a change.... Jory John hatches a funny and charming story that reminds us of the importance of balance, self-care, and accepting those who we love (even if they are sometimes a bit rotten).

The Great Eggscape is when the Good Egg and his pals escape their carton and drop into the store for a morning of fun, enjoyed by everybody. Well, almost everybody. Shel (an egg) isn’t a huge fan of group activities, especially when he’s made to be “It” for a game of hide-and-seek. Nevertheless, Shel doesn’t want to let his friends down, so he reluctantly plays, anyway. But after a morning of hiding and seeking, somebody’s still missing. Will the dozen eggs friends ever be reunited?