How to Be a Mensch, by A. Monster

The friend­liest mon­sters you ever saw inhab­it the pages of this live­ly pic­ture book, a sto­ry that simul­ta­ne­ous­ly teach­es young chil­dren how to be fine, upstand­ing peo­ple and offers numer­ous exam­ples of the Yid­dish word men­sch—in the lan­guage of the book, an ​“hon­or­able” and ​“kind” person.

While each mon­ster por­trays a char­ac­ter­is­tic of a men­sch, the author reminds chil­dren that being one isn’t always easy; it can be quite a chal­lenge on many occa­sions to do the right thing, but when you do it, you ​“feel ten feet tall.” Chil­dren will iden­ti­fy with these thought­ful, col­or­ful crea­tures who are each dif­fer­ent, some with bright col­ors, each with var­i­ous num­bers of eyes and heads, but all work­ing hard at being good and help­ful. They share with oth­ers, respect their par­ents and teach­ers, sneeze into elbows or tis­sues, and help their fam­i­lies pre­pare for Shabbat.

This cheery book fea­tures joy, cour­tesy, and care for oth­ers in a fun and light­heart­ed way. It can be used by par­ents and teach­ers to sup­port social skills with­out pre­sent­ing even a hint of didac­tic or heavy teaching. 

---Michal Malen, THE JEWISH BOOK COUNCIL

In this delightful and perky picture book directed to young readers and families, the main character and narrator, A. Monster, gives readers direct advice for how to be a mensch. The humorous text speaks directly to the reader.

"It's hard to believe, but some people are afraid of monsters.
It's true that monsters can look scary.
But most of us are kind and helpful.
Monsters can even be mensches!"

I love funny books! Our kids deserve to laugh—even as they grapple with challenges of the world.

On each spread, readers will love the monster-specific examples (like not staring, with one eye or five) as well as general concepts, like sharing and caring and preparing for Shabbat. Yoshikawa’s illustrations amp up the humor. Young readers are going to love checking out the menschy monsters on every page.

The book ends with a question directly for young readers: "What kind of mensch will you be?" This will certainly start conversations for families. When it comes to our world today, what could be more important than figuring out how to be a mensch? This may book may seem like a fun romp with  monsters, but it speaks to the responsibilities we all share without getting didactic. Leslie Kimmelman and A. Monster are right: Even the smallest acts of kindness can make a difference!

How To Be A Mensch is recommended for families introducing young children to the idea of social action and repairing the world. It is a cute and funny book with strong Jewish values. 

--Sarah Aronson, THE SYDNEY TAYLOR SHMOOZE