Follow Here To Purchase A Quest for Good Manners

Author: Karin Lefranc, Illustrator: Hannah Neale

Publisher: Beluga Press

ISBN: 978-0-9830459-0-8

“Children should be seen and not heard” used to be a common saying in society. However, nowadays children actually need to know good manners and politeness at a young age. Karin Lefranc teaches a few manners by writing a charming children’s book titled A Quest for Good Manners.

This large hard-bound book is a perfect size for the four to eight year old age range. The front cover has a sky blue background with a young big-eyed princess riding her friendly, happy dragon, breathing fire with the book title in it. The back cover has the same blue with a magical golden fork stuck in a gray rock. There is one review (by the wizard, of course) on the back.

Inside flaps tell the short story and there are paragraphs about the author Lefranc and illustrator Hannah Neale. The bright golden-rod colored paper for binding the book is vibrant. Each glossy white page has writing on the left side and a water color / air brush picture on the right. The pictures are simple yet detailed enough for the reader to comprehend. The dragon is not scary but fun and endearing, always wearing a smile. There were no noticeable grammatical or typographical errors except the use of “nnno” for exclamation which might confuse a young reader. Words such as “obviously,” “embarrassing”, and “consideration” were used for the seasoned reader but may need explanation for a younger one.

This cute story is about young princess Rosalind and her pet dragon Sparkler who both have poor manners at the dinner table and with people. The queen gets tired of their burping, slurping, and lack of politeness so decides that if they do not learn good manners within three days, the pet dragon will be banished from the castle.

Rosalind and Sparkler take off on an adventure in search of good manners and learn how to properly eat, what to say to others and how to say it. Through the wizard Percival, a fairy and Lady Grace, both child and dragon learn through several challenges how to have good manners, show kindness and be considerate to others before returning to the castle.

This book is a wonderful teaching tool for children of any young age and should be in every child’s bookcase or at grandparents’ homes to be read. The book helps the young child understand and correct poor manners, and concentrates especially on thanking and caring about others.