Estie the Mensch by Jane Kohuth, illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger Ages 3+ 32 pages Random House August 2011 Hardcover     Estie is constantly reminded by her mother, father and grandmother to “be a mensch,” which they explain means “a well-behaved person.” But precocious little Estie wants to be a dog, or a turtle, or a chimp. She doesn’t always like people, or to be polite, quiet or clean. One day, when Estie and her grandmother go to the zoo, they meet grandma’s friend Violet and Violet’s grandson, Petie. Estie makes him laugh with her at impersonations of animals, but her true character is revealed when Petie drops his ice cream. This is a sweet story about Estie, a young child being just that. Her grown-ups consistently remind her to behave, and Estie finally takes the lesson to heart. The tone of the story has an ethnic, folktale aspect to it, as do the folktale illustrations, with muted colors and rounded lines. The narrative and the illustrations work hand in hand to bring across the repetitive nature of grown-ups’ messages and how it appears to fall on deaf ears. It also effectively portrays the love and patience of those grown-ups. The minor shortcoming of the book is that the ending comes a little abruptly. Estie the Mensch is a short, sweet tale about how Estie becomes a mensch. Recommended. Three stars.     web reviews   Maya Fleischmann/2012 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)