People Don't Bite People

by Lisa Wheeler, Molly Idle (Illustrator)

Overview

Lisa Wheeler and Caldecott Honor–winning illustrator Molly Idle remind overeager little biters that biting is for food in this hysterical read-aloud picture book. Learning good behavior has never been so fun!

It’s good to bite a carrot.
It’s good to bite a steak.
It’s bad to bite your sister!
She’s not a piece of cake.

Cause...
People don’t bite people!
That’s what this book’s about.
So if you find
you’re tooth-inclined—
you’d better check it out!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481490825
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/03/2018
Series:	People Books Series
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	373,078
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD360L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lisa Wheeler has written many books for children, including The Pet Project, illustrated by Zachariah OHora; Spinster Goose, illustrated by Sophie Blackall; and People Don’t Bite People and People Share with People, both illustrated by Molly Idle. She lives with her family in Addison, Michigan. Visit her online at LisaWheelerBooks.com.

Molly Idle is the Caldecott Honor–winning creator of Flora and the Flamingo, Tea Rex, and Pearl, as well as the illustrator of Lisa Wheeler’s People Don’t Bite People and People Share with People. She lives in Tempe, Arizona, with her fabulous family, and when she’s not scribbling away on her next project, she can be found (figuratively) devouring one of her favorite books, or (literally) devouring one of her favorite snacks...like blueberry pie! Visit Molly online at IdleIllustration.com.

Editorial Reviews

The message is outlined and repeated in tick-tack-toe squares with plenty of illustrations and humor, straightforward, with a hint of Mary Poppins's intolerance for nonsense.

The New York Times Book Review - Marisha Pessl

★ 02/12/2018
In a combination of listicle, admonishment, and pep talk, the well-matched Wheeler (Babies Can Sleep Anywhere) and Idle (the Flora books) remind children that they are too long in the tooth, so to speak, to be chomping on others: “Puppies bite and babies bite./ They’re much too young to know./ But you grow bigger every day/ and know where teeth should go.” Wheeler’s four-line stanzas deploy repetition and rhythm for maximum percussive punch (“It’s good to bite a carrot./ It’s good to bite a steak./ It’s bad to bite your sister!/ She’s not a piece of cake”). Idle’s pert, radiant pictures alternate between neatly divided worksheet-style grids (which correspond to the bitable and nonbitable items and people mentioned in the verse) and blithe vignettes: one mother fends off her little one by wielding a kitchen chair like a lion-tamer. The aesthetic is reminiscent of 1960s educational films, with every character exuding comic, pedagogical earnestness. Whether readers are biters, bite-ees, or witnesses to a biting incident, they’ll find this a toothsome treat. Ages 4–8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"In People Don't Bite People...that Class-A preschool felony is faced head-on with the snappy verve of a 1950s tooth-paste jingle: "It's good to bite a carrot. It's good to bite a steak. It's bad to bite your sister! She's not a piece of cake." The drawings are bright and no-nonsense, quickly removing, like ripping off a Band-Aid, the stigma of biting. The message is outlined and repeated in tick-tack-toe squares with plenty of illustrations and humor, straight-forward, with a hint of Mary Poppins's intolerance for nonsense."

The New York Times Book Review

"Subversively lilting rhymed verse. . . The humorous text is all fun and games (the refrain: 'Biting is for food!'), but the underlying message about anger management is useful and age appropriate. Idle’s dynamic colored-pencil illustrations use many of her familiar poses from her Flora books . . . Simple rounded shapes in saturated hues, surrounded by dimension-giving, drop shadow outlines, keep the pictures clean, lighthearted, and easy to follow. A sweet conclusion that smartly anticipates preschooler logic provides an exception to the no-biting rule."

The Horn Book

*"Paired with a neatly drawn cast of doll-like animals and human figures in Caldecott Honoree Idle’s spacious, harmoniously hued illustrations, Wheeler’s infectiously exclamatory rhymes present her anti-biting message with lighthearted but compelling persistence . . . A chewy theme for children with biting issues, and a rollicking readaloud for all."

*STARRED REVIEW* Booklist

03/01/2018
PreS-K—This instructional book about biting goes above and beyond a basic lesson with its cheeky rhymes and bright, over-the-top illustrations. Wheeler writes in precise rhythmic rhyming verse, informing readers what things are good and bad to bite, in a style reminiscent of Jane Yolen's "Dinosaurs" series. The refrain features the titular "People don't bite people" and always ends with "biting is for food." The suggestions appeal to common sense, reminding children that they are not wild animals, and giving the characters the opportunity to right their behavior, by politely chewing a piece of pizza rather than gnawing on their mother, for example. Caldecott honoree Idle's wide-eyed, retro children jump off the page with ultra bright pastels done in Prismacolor pencils and expressions as sweet as the foods that adorn the cover page. Adults and children alike will appreciate the humor in both the text and illustrations, an element which is often missing in didactic works, from the up-close views of teeth and tongues on the endpapers, to the twist ending featuring gingerbread people (the one exception to the title's rule). VERDICT This book is sure to elicit giggles from group read-alouds or one-on-one sharing. Add to any collection in need of a wildly entertaining title that addresses a common childhood issue.—Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

2018-02-03
A rollicking reminder of what to do—and not do—with your pearly whites.The commandments rhyme and scan terrifically right out of the gate: "It's good to bite a carrot. / It's good to bite a steak. / It's BAD to bite your sister! / She's not a piece of cake." A white, blond, round-headed kid gazes dubiously across the spread at that blonde sister, who occupies the lower left quarter of her page. The other quarters of her page offer—natch—a carrot, a steak, and a piece of cake, all retro-styled and glowing. The next spread features a black sibling team with similar instructions. Refrains reiterate that "BITING IS FOR FOOD!" —once fabulously rhymed with "You're not a zombie, dude!"—and that a "friend will never bite a friend" (more ideal than truth, honestly). Idle's pencil colors are rich and soft. Some of her flat, round-headed figures show neat, inventively continuous outlines of positions that evoke stretching or movement, while others' torsos appear motionless like oval or triangular plastic toys. The gleeful, confident patter feels no need to justify its instructions—no injuries appear, real nor imagined—and to very young readers, biting may sound like merely a manners issue (it's "nasty" and "rude").Find out why people don't bite people elsewhere; get this to summon instant rereads and loud participation. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews