How to Lose All Your Friends by Nancy Carlson

From the Publisher

With exuberant pictures and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, the author of I Like Me! takes a light-hearted look at bratty behavior that will have children laughing in recognition while learning exactly how not to behave. Colored-pencil illustrations throughout.

Children's Literature

Six easy steps to success, if losing your friends is your goal. You can: never smile or share; be a bully and a poor sport; perfect your tattling; and whine your way into having no friends to bother you. That means you can eat your plate of cookies all by yourself! We can laugh at horrible behavior in others, especially when their reward turns out to be just what they asked for. Even a very young audience can appreciate the tongue-in-cheek humor as they follow the recipe. It's uncomplicated and bittersweet with bright pictures to light the way. In the end, those cookies taste much better when shared with friends. 1997 (orig.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1-This reverse etiquette book advises readers to never smile or share; to be a bully and whine; to tattle and be a poor sport. Each ``rule'' offers specific examples and is illustrated with brightly colored pictures. While children are always interested in stories showing the complications and potential pitfalls of social interactions, this plotless treatment is not likely to hold much appeal for them. Also, it's unfortunate that ``tattling'' is presented as undesirable. Granted, the examples given are minor ones involving friends who are misbehaving in not terribly destructive ways, but youngsters do need to know that there are situations in which ``telling'' is perfectly acceptable. Carlson's cartoon-style art is a little more crudely done here than in her previous books, and her figures are more angular, as they ``Push in front of the lunch line'' or ``Cheat at cards.''-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

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