Oh, How Sylvester Can Pester! And Other Poems More or Less About Manners

This neatly crafted collection of etiquette poems covers all the traditional juvenile sins: interrupting ("When someone is speaking—a grown-up, let's say—/ can you interrupt? In general, no way"); talking during movies ("There ought to be armies of top-notch, trained booers/ protesting those loudmouths disturbing us viewers"); and chewing with one's mouth full. Kozjan's manners-minders are both diverse and retro; there's a distinctly Hilary Knight feel to his bespectacled, necktie-wearing dads. Oddly, the real manners problems of the day—cellphones and texting—go unmentioned. Nevertheless, it's a sterling performance. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)