Bella's Rules

April 1, 2013
As one might guess from the title, boisterous Bella's rules are in serious conflict with the family rules. Bella's rules: candy for breakfast, no washing your hair, ever, except with mud shampoo, and...there is no such thing as bedtime! Family rules include boring things such as no yelling indoors, no painting on paintings and no scaling the bookcase. Bella's rules seem irrefutable, particularly to her kind but wimpy baby sitter Sammy, whom she terrifies with her wild behavior and who resorts to begging her to behave and go to bed. The indefatigable Bella gets her own way with everything, and her long-suffering parents are at their wits' end. Until Granny pays a visit and brings with her a game-changer--an adorable puppy that breaks as many rules as his young charge and puts Bella in the unaccustomed role of having to introduce order into the chaos. Puppy's behavior is even more wild, rude and risky than Bella's. Ruining Bella's favorite teddy is the last straw, and Bella sulks for a bit, until she starts to understand that by patiently teaching the puppy good behavior, obedience can actually be more rewarding than rebellion. The harmonious pairing of Guest's simple but lively text with Halpin's whimsical illustrations charms. Dialogue is represented in free-floating type that dances with nicely paced vignettes and page turns. A winner. (Picture book. 4-8)

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June 1, 2013

K-Gr 2-Bella knows her family's rules but she doesn't like to follow them. She makes up her own, therefore misbehaving a lot. When a babysitter comes for the evening, she takes advantage of him and truly endangers herself and ruins property. When her parents come home, they have a conversation with her about her behavior and insist that she write a letter of apology to the sitter. When Grandma arrives a few days later with a surprise for Bella, a puppy, the child is overjoyed, and they soon become best friends. But soon Puppy starts behaving like the youngster that he is. He jumps on Bella and eats her cupcake. He leaves muddy footprints on her bedspread. He chews up her favorite teddy bear. Bella unfriends him. At this point, the family steps in and together they teach the dog how to behave. And in the process, Bella learns about the importance of following rules. The cheerful illustrations are done in colored pencils and watercolors and clearly convey the exuberant pup's actions. However, children might have trouble picking up on the lesson as it seems as though her grandmother is rewarding Bella's inappropriate behavior. The moment of clarity is too far away.-Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI

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