Note: I accessed digital review copies of this book through Edelweiss and NetGalley. ( )

This was a cute and engaging book about learning good manners. This book has a simple message that uses friendship, frustration and humor which I think is great for a preschool audience. The illustrations were beautifully done and did a great job of showing facial cues as well that showed how Dot was getting more and more frustrated when Duck was becoming more disrespectful with his behavior.

This was a very relatable situation for young kids and I liked that we were able to see Dot's frustration level increase as that is a very normal feeling when people around us are unaware. The problems were sorted out and there was a feeling of mutual respect and understanding at the end of the book which I thought wrapped up this story perfectly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ( )

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

This book didn't hold our attention. I think How Rude! had the potential to be more than it was, and would have benefited from more dialogue. We see Dot becoming increasingly frustrated with Duck, but Dot never actually communicates her feelings. We always tell our children to use their words to express their thoughts and emotions, which allows us to have conversations. Eventually Dot snaps and does something rude, and Duck realizes he was being a terrible friend.

I think it sends a bad message to children, because the book is essentially telling them to mimic the bad behavior to solve their problems. Dot should have tried talking to Duck instead of lashing out. I believe this one missed the mark.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on January 17, 2019. ( )