Max's Manual for Good Manners

Children need to learn basic etiquette beyond saying, ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’

In recent years, rude behavior and bullying have become the ‘new norm’ while common courtesy seems to be a thing of the past.

What separates humans from animals is our ability to reason and manage our emotions.

Yet, what if children could learn manners from a story about a dog who struggles with the same emotional challenges as they do?

Training children and dogs is not an easy task.

This book aims to teach children manners through the eyes of a dog named ‘Max,’ who is modeled after my own dog, ‘Mad Max.’

J. Brittany DeVarso graduated cum laude from The University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she received a Bachelor of English and a Music Minor in 1992. She studied British Literature in the summer of 1990 at Trinity College, Oxford University. After college, Brittany attended graduate school at Vanderbilt University Divinity School where she earned a Master of Theological Studies in 1994.Since that time, Brittany has pursued a variety of creative endeavors over the years including songwriting and vocal jazz performance. In addition to writing songs, Brittany has written poetry, short stories and novels. Max’s Manual for Good Manners is her first children’s book. It is accompanied by a soundtrack featuring a song she wrote called, ‘Max’s Manners.’