Emily's Everyday Manners (by Cindy Post Senning, Ed.D., Peggy Post)

Emily Post's great-granddaughter-in-law Peggy Post and great-granddaughter Dr. Cindy Post Senning take their family heritage seriously, but with a liveliness that suits a kids' picture book. There's a lot of information here, and not every child is going to grasp all of the lessons. But the book has enough entertainment value to be read just for fun, too. Cheery pen-and-ink illustrations keep pages busy and engaging, and lots of dialogue moves the book along quickly.

Children will like identifying with familiar situations. They will also get a kick out of "Emily's Don'ts" -- small pictures occasionally illustrating Emily getting it wrong. But the "Emily's Don'ts" corner displays one weakness in the book: Kids are asked to take the word of the narrator that manners are important. But the lessons would benefit with more examples of the consequences of manners gone bad.