Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners
"Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you."—Socrates (the Greek philosopher), circa 470-399 B.C.
Mr. Rabbit's new neighbors are Otters. OTTERS! But he doesn't know anything about Otters. Will they get along? Will they be friends? Just treat otters the same way you'd like them to treat you, advises wise Mr. Owl. And so begins Mr. Rabbit's reflection on good manners.
In her smart, quirky style Laurie Keller highlights how to be a good friend and neighbor—just follow the Golden Rule! This title has Common Core connections.
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Do Unto Otters is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Reviews (163)
Probably better for older kids.
I love the idea of this book more than the execution. A little too 'much' content for young kids (3-years), and not really conducive to reading aloud. Maybe will be more interesting when it's a 'read this yourself' type of story. Doesn't mean that my toddler doesn't enjoy it, though, so it's still a win in general. Not so much for me right now though unfortunately. I find myself trying to explain more than anything else.
7 yo grandson loved reading it aloud
I hadn't yet previewed it but one night when I was visiting & he needed a more challenging book, this did the trick. Just that day we'd been discussing the importance of honesty. Along with that, other topics regarding good manners & ethics are presented and discussed in VERY humorous ways kids will recall FAR better than any "lecture" could. I highly recommend this for kids 5 to ~9
My kids love it.
Super cute book, my 3 & 5 year old love it and think it’s hilarious. I like what the book teaches, treating others with kindness and respect. I’ve also given it as a gift. The only very minor complaint I have is some of the pages have a lot of text and it can be difficult to get through the book with squirrelly kids.
Beautifully written and illustrated!
I bought this book for my five year old daughter after we had originally loaned it from the public library and she fell in love with it, requesting that I read it to her several times a day. I feel it is very age appropriate for a child 4-8 years old depending on their maturity level. This book is excellent for teaching without lecturing. It also has a lot of humor in it that makes it enjoyable for adults to read to children too. It is beautifully illustrated and entertaining, keeping children's attention throughout the whole book. This is a book that I am thankful my daughter enjoys as it does teach the important lesson of doing unto others as you would want done unto yourself.
Great, colorful pictures but definitely not a good storytime ...
Great, colorful pictures but definitely not a good storytime book! The book was way too long and all over the place.
A Good Book With a Good Lesson
Our word for the week at school was respect, and I read this book to my 2nd graders, because it fit well under that topic. The concept of the otters is really funny and had my students laughing. It also provided opportunities for them to make connections and share ways that we could show respect to otters...er...I means others. LOL
LOVE this! And so did my first grade class!
My first graders absolutely LOVE this book! A lot of explaining was necessary with puns and jokes but after discussing certain parts they were roaring with laughter! Also has a great message about treating other people nicely... along with lending itself to discussion about being kind to animals. ❤️
Loved The Illustrations
Bought this as a birthday gift for my 6 year old nephew but I read it with my 6 year old daughter before we gave it to him. It was funny and I loved the illustrations. It was a very nice book. We also bought the other Laurie Keller books and the DVD to go with them.
Teaching kids not to pass judgement before getting to know the facts.
An adorable story about tolerance and new friendship with great play on words and opportunities to teach children a variety of skills. I read it to a group of second graders and we had a great discussion and interactive activity after the reading. Key phrases like “Please,” “ thank you,” and “Excuse me,” are used in different languages. Highly recommend this cute book.
Cute way to teach kids about manners!
Laurie Keller certainly has a vivid imagination, and all of her books play to kids' silly sides. This book is a great way to teach kids about the importance of being polite, without being preachy. My son and I laugh out loud when we read this book. She covers being friendly, saying please, thank you, and excuse me, honesty, cooperation, fair play, sharing, not teasing, forgiveness, and apologizing, and she throws in how to say some of the words in 5 different languages (one being pig Latin!) For those reviewers that slammed her use of passing gas, I feel that this is blown way out of proportion to the book as a whole. It is on one page of the book and it is only one side-bar illustration. And, let's face it, passing gas is funny to a 6 year old, but she shows the importance of having good manners about it if it happens to you. Please, thank you, and excuse me are oftentimes not heard uttered by the age group that she targets, so it is great way to share a story with your child while driving the point home that EVERYONE needs to have good manners. You and your child will thoroughly enjoy this book.
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