Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

Children Have Got to Be Carefully Taught is a children’s picture book written by Kat Michels and illustrated by A. Sutton. It always pays to bring a child up with great manners and good quality education. What many people seem to overlook nowadays is that children also need to be given a great childhood as well. Playing, exploring the world around them, not being afraid of getting dirty, using their imaginations to play, getting in touch with Mother Nature and more are all part of the childhood learning experience which helps a child to grow into a happy teenager. As children lie on their backs on the grass and find shapes in the clouds above rather than sitting at home tackling the latest video game, readers will discover the difference between a well-balanced child and a child who has been raised to be self-centered and materialistic.

When I grabbed this book off the shelf, I envisaged seeing a standard how-to instructional booklet about what is good and what is bad, with a list of both for parents and guardians to follow. Instead, I was treated to a brilliantly written story on how the best lessons for a child to learn are life lessons, allowing a child to come into their own, enjoy what Nature has to offer, exploring the great outdoors and actually BEING children. Kat Michels’ story had me smiling from ear to ear as I enjoyed different types of fun and relaxing rules, complete with wildly colorful illustrations by A. Sutton. The two combined add up to the enjoyable lessons in Children Have Got to Be Carefully Taught. So many people focus on how to make children be seen as well-raised by today’s standards through mischief-making or allowing video games to babysit them while the parents are busy elsewhere, with all thoughts of letting kids thoroughly enjoy their childhood seemingly thrown out the window.

I remember how wonderful my own childhood was and, although we live in a different culture now, children should never be robbed of the opportunity to learn, see, explore, play, laugh and have fun. I very much enjoyed Children Have Got to Be Carefully Taught and wholeheartedly recommend it to all parents, guardians and teachers of the younger generation. This book is a definite must for any school, home, hospital or town library.