Young Martha learns that she must apologize for her bad behavior if she wants people to cooperate with her.

Presents a reference guide to good manners for children of the twenty-first century, offering advice on writing thank-you notes, and examining proper etiquette for home, school, play, travel, weddings, funerals, hospital visits, and other situations.

Here Erma Bombeck proves that a behaviorist need not wear a safari jacket and live in a tent in order to be an expert on every facet of a species' behavior. From the aerobics classroom -- where humans defend their territory to the death by spraying their mats with their own personal perfume -- to our migratory patterns -- where, like a certain species of butterfly, we fly to Miami in hordes the minute the temperature drops below sixty, Erma demonstrates...

Goldilocks, ignoring her father's warning not to rush in where she does not belong, enters a cabin in the woods, cleans it to meet her standards, plucks from the porridge items unappealing to her before eating a bowlful, and falls asleep on the bed that suits her best.

At the end of summer Spud and Joe eagerly return to school for more practical jokes, unaware that Principal Lamar J. Spurgle is out of retirement and awaiting them.

Creative, impulsive Logan vows to turn over a new leaf in fifth grade so his parents will let him have a pet, but when a competitive new girl arrives at school and his forgetful and embarrassing grandfather takes over the basement of Logan's house, doing the right thing becomes harder than it has ever been.

Ant is honored to receive an invitation to lion's annual dinner party, but is shocked when the other guests behave rudely and then accuse her of thinking only of herself.

A Jewish boy living in Russia learns a lesson from the village chickens at the time of Rosh ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year.

Reagan Mercer is just trying to fit in at her new high school when she bumps one of the most popular girls from the cheerleading squad, but when she eventually becomes part of the in-crowd, she finds their behavior--and her own--disturbing. Includes discussion questions.