Picture Book Review: Back-to-School Rules

Back-to-School Rules by Laurie Friedman and illustrated by Teresa Murfin is a picture book ready for release on September 28 2011. Colorful illustrations and rhyming rules of how not to behave at school are the point of Percy's prose as he explains his ten simple rules to avoiding trouble in school. Let me start right away with the issue some might have with Back-to-School Rules. The rules are all told in negatives, all no's and don'ts. Many people are of the school of thought that these types of rules are not appropriate, however out in the real world people will slip and use these types of rules rather than simply the positive rules of behavior. It is not necessarily a bad thing to show a child that different people might do things in different ways, including how to set the rules. If you can get past that and let yourself enjoy the cheerful illustrations, humorous situations and rhyming rules then you will be entertained and the children in the room might learn something. The narrator does not forget to remind readers that they can still have plenty of fun at school, despite all the no's he has listed. I think that Back-to-School Rules would make great reading for children beginning school, or going back to school, that are nervous about the prospect. It would also be good for reading aloud in a classroom setting during the first week of school to help students understand what is, and is not, acceptable behavior.