This humorous and entirely practical how-to book for kids aged 10 and up passes along essential life skills with an irreverent voice and graphic novel?style illustrations. From how to write a thank-you note to how to make a simple meal, this valuable advice, written with wit and wisdom, will help every kid taking the first steps into adulthood. For the kid who leaves a wet towel wadded up on the floor or forgets to put a new roll on the toilet-paper thingy, humorous writer and etiquette columnist Catherine Newman has written the ultimate guidebook to becoming a person whom everyone will like being around more. Jam-packed with tips, tricks, and skills - all illustrated in an irresistible graphic novel?style - this book shows kids just how easy it is to free themselves from parental nagging and become a more dependable person - and they'll like themselves better, too! They'll learn how to deal with dirty rooms, care for pets and cactuses, stick up for somebody, and fold a T-shirt. They'll even get a crash course on using the kitchen and a boot camp for lending a hand outside the house (mowing, shoveling, and fixing something loose has never been easier). This handbook to becoming beyond helpful promises that every kid can be a valued and valuable member of the grown-up world. AGES: 10 to 14 AUTHOR: Catherine Newman is the author of Waiting for Birdy, Catastrophic Happiness, and One Mixed-Up Night, and the coauthor of Stitch Camp. She is the etiquette columnist for Real Simple magazine and the editor of the James Beard Award-winning kids' cooking magazine ChopChop. Newman has contributed to publications including the New York Times, O the Oprah Magazine, and Parents. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with her family. SELLING POINTS: ? Teens are heading off to college knowing trigonometry and ancient history, but those skills aren't enough. Many don't know how to do laundry, budget money, or other important life skills. This book teaches self-sufficiency to tweens so they can take care of themselves in the world by the time they leave the nest. Best-selling parenting books like Jessica Potts Lahey's The Gift of Failure and Julie Lythcott-Haims's How to Raise an Adult are advocating for fostering independence and warning against helicopter parenting. The time has come for kids to learn how to be more independent. ? Graphic-style illustrations complement Newman's engaging, non-judgmental voice. ? Loaded with illustrations, how-to tips, and humour throughout, this book is gifty, practical, and fun to read.
