Rules Of The Wild
Bridget Levin
(Reviewer - Rev. Marie D. Jones)
2004 Chronicle Books
ISBN: 0811842266

An Unruly Book of Manners. How different manners might be in the homes of the wild things.

Associate Reviewer Rev. Marie D. Jones writes:

There are so many books for children coming out each year, & it seems to be getting harder & harder to really find one that is unique, & that makes you laugh out loud. Kudos to first-time author Bridget Levin, who says she was inspired to write Rules Of The Wild after hanging out at the Minneapolis Zoo & watching how animals were a lot more lax about good behavior than we humans!

This absolutely delightful book shows how each animal species challenges our own human manners, with elephants who encourage their offspring to squirt; camels who seem just fine with their kids spitting; lions who like it when their kids roar noisily; mother pigs who urge their little ones to literally pig out, & more such observations that turn human manners upside down.

In fact, the lyrical, whimsical text may inspire many a parent to keep this decadent, but outright funny book out of the hands of susceptible little minds just ready to challenge parental authority (& on scientific grounds, no less!). I can just hear them now: “Mommy, the bears do it all the times” or “Daddy, if it's OK for elephants, why can't I?”

First-time children's book illustrator Amanda Shepherd does a wonderful job of bringing the messy, noisy, piggy animals (& children) to life with her humorous & wild & downright unruly illustrations of young creatures doing all kinds of things that defy the boundaries of perfect behavior, yet seem utterly natural in the natural world. The final two-page spread of the book offers a hilarious graph of what behaviors apply to which animals, including children.

Ultimately, Rules Of The Wild makes kids & adults laugh out loud even as it subtly points out that children really do know better than to burp out loud, bathe in the dirt, splash each other & sleep through the winter as their animal friends do (with full parental consent, mind you!).

Then again, for those of us who are parents, the lines between the tame & the wild are often very blurry!
(01/02/05)

Rev. Marie D. Jones
2005©Marie D. Jones
A RebeccasReads.Com Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
Marie Jones is a New Thought minister, author of Looking For God In All The Wrong Places & a widely published writer of inspirational essays, gift books, short stories & magazine articles. She is also a screenwriter, & has produced a children's storybook video series for Gigglebug Farms Productions. she holds a Masters Degree in Metaphysical Studies & is a licensed pastoral counsellor.