Elmo's Good Manners Game (Sesame Street) Board book – June 22, 1999

Since Elmo can do no wrong in our house, this book seemed like a natural pick to help introduce manners to our fussy two year old who likes things her way. She actually followed along when we read about teaching Cookie Monster to say please, but when it came to the part where Bert says, "How do you do?" to an octopus, I think it went over her head. Obviously the idea of learning basic manners early on is a great one, I just think the book didn't hit the mark squarely enough so that young ones can apply what they see and hear to their everyday activities. Better to have shown real life scenarios that a child can relate to when showing them how to behave politely."Thank you" and "excuse me" are also covered, so it doesn't miss the mark completely. And the large board book format is perfect for lap reading and rough little hands.

This is a cute, but less than ideal book of very simple manners for Sesame Street lovers. Unfortunately "Gimme cookie, please" is just the way Cookie Monster talks. It would've been a better lesson if someone could've said, "May I have a cookie please?" instead. I also thought the page where Grover and friends ask to be excused from the table - blissfully leaving a HUGE mess on it! - could've taught a better lesson if they had at least helped to clear the table a tiny bit. I'm sure there are better books of good manners for toddlers out there, just as cute and with better lessons. If your child likes Barney, I highly recommend "Barney Best Manners - Your Invitation To Fun" on DVD instead.

This book is my son's favorite bedtime book, as it has been for over a year now. This book has been instrumental in creating a good foundation of manners for my son. We also use this book to reinforce sign language for "Please" and "Thank You."Concerning the language used: If one reads Cookie Monster's request in the Cookie Monster voice, then children recognize the difference between human language and monster language.I highly suggest this book. It is a fast read with great results!

My 18 month old loves Sesame Street books, especially anything with Elmo and Grover. She loves this book and has us read it to her almost every day. I don't think she's really learning better manners from the book, but it is entertaining for her. Maybe with enough reading she will eventually pick up the message.