How Do You Do, Mr Gnu? by Billy Coughlan Review

illustrated by Maddie Frost

Mr Gnu

How do you do, my fellow readers?

When I was growing up, manners were a very important attribute. It didn’t matter what your background, race, religion or gender was, manners were extremely important. These days, manners seem to be on the decline and I really hope that improves. Manners should be taught be at home, a please, thank you or excuse me cost nothing but can change the way people think about you and interact with you. Whilst children will learn their manners from their parents or carers, they can also learn a lot from reading books and one such book, from Maverick Books, is How Do You Do, Mr Gnu? written by Billy Coughlan and illustrated by Maddie Frost.

Reading is an excellent activity and should be encouraged at every opportunity. A good book can spark imagination, help improve language and communication skills and, like this one, show the importance of having good manners, as well as providing enjoyment and fun.

How Do You Do, Mr Gnu? is a story about an antelope. He is not just any run of the mill antelope though; he has received an invitation through the post inviting him for tea with The Queen herself, one can’t do better than that. But Mr Gnu’s manners are not the best, and for such an important meeting he decides that before attending he needs to brush up on his manners. After all, he can’t be rude to The Queen, that just wouldn’t do.

How Do You Do, Mr Gnu? is a delightful and beautifully illustrated picture book. It sees Mr Gnu setting off for the Palace to see The Queen after receiving an invitation to tea. He realises that his manners are not up to scratch and has to brush up. Along the way he speaks to other animals (dog, crow, dinosaur and more), learning manners from each of them and putting them to the test. But can he get his manners up to a good and more than acceptable standard before he meets The Queen? I’m not going to tell; you will have to read the book to find out!

We found this to be an excellent and very amusing book with a very good message. It teaches young readers that manners are important, not just when meeting The Queen but throughout daily life and with everybody that we interact with.

It has been beautifully illustrated by the talented Maddie Frost with bright and colourful images that bring the story to life, which really do complement the story extremely well.

How Do You Do, Mr Gnu? is a fun book that is bold, bright and amusing throughout its 32 pages (an excellent length for a bedtime story). Teaching the importance of manners and how to use them is a great subject and the use of animals visiting The Queen to get the point across makes the story easily accessible and engaging for its young readers.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £6.99 (Paperback)

For more information, visit maverickbooks.co.uk. Available to buy from Amazon here.

DISCLOSURE: I was provided with a free copy of this book for the purposes of writing a honest and impartial review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review uses an affiliate link which I may receive a small commission from if you purchase through the link.