How to Negotiate Everything: with audio recording

by Lisa Lutz, Jaime Temairik (Illustrator)

Overview

There’ll be no more hearing “no” after this clever picture book teaches you how to get everything you want. Includes audio!

Have you ever wanted something and been told “No”? Then this is the book for you. Through several simple steps, you will learn the best way to ask for what you want, how to ask for more of what you want, and the importance of not overreaching. With helpful illustrations and a complete glossary, there is no end to what these skills can get you.

Straight out of the pages of the New York Times bestselling Trail of the Spellmans, authors David Spellman and Lisa Lutz and illustrator Jaime Temairik show you that it is possible to negotiate for everything. Even an elephant!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442451209
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	05/21/2013
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

David Spellman is a lawyer, a stay-at-home dad, and a fictional character invented by Lisa Lutz.

Lisa Lutz is the author of the Spellman series of comedic novels about a family of private investigators, beginning with The Spellman Files. She is a fictional character invented by Jaime Temairik.

Jaime Temairik is an illustrator in Seattle. How to Negotiate Everything is her first picture book. She is a fictional character created by Sammy’s elephant.
Lisa Lutz is the New York Times bestselling, Alex Award–winning author of the Spellman Files series, as well as the novels The Accomplice, Heads You Lose (with David Hayward), How to Start a Fire, The Passenger, and The Swallows. She has also written for film and TV, including HBO’s The Deuce. She lives in upstate New York.
Jaime Temairik is an illustrator in Seattle. How to Negotiate Everything is her first picture book.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1–3—"Have you ever begged, cried, or screamed for a special toy or an ice-cream cone…or a pair of sneakers with flashing lights? Is the answer always NO? We feel your pain." So begins this tongue-in-cheek guide that promises to let readers in on the secrets of negotiating for what one wants. The irreverent narrative and humorous, expressive digital illustrations provide tips on being calm, rational, and persistent. For example, Mom won't say yes to ice cream before dinner, but you can negotiate a deal to have it after you eat your vegetables. Advice on managing expectations and warnings against overreaching and negotiating too aggressively are included, cautioning readers that they may have to settle for a pet turtle even though they want an elephant. That some things in life are nonnegotiable is illustrated with a spread showing items worth negotiating for (cotton candy, small pets, trips to the zoo) and those that are unrealistic (endangered species, quitting school to join the circus, an all-cotton-candy diet). But "when you grow up, you can take negotiating to a new level," and "items that once seemed impossible to acquire will now be at your fingertips…" even that pet elephant! The amusing glossary defines and illustrates entries such as "long-term strategy" and "weakness." Text and portions of the illustrations were published in Lutz's adult novel Trail of the Spellmans (S & S, 2012). Sophisticated picture-book readers will relate to the cheeky young protagonist and be entertained by the laughable details depicted in the graphics.—Rachel Kamin, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park, IL

School Library Journal

There are very few things in life that you can’t get if you ask for them in a rational manner and offer something in return,” asserts Lutz in this story derived from her Spellman books for adults. “Author” David Spellman is a lawyer in that series, and the text and some artwork in this picture book appeared in 2012’s Trail of the Spellmans. With a child named Sammy as her example, Lutz shows readers how to eschew tantrums, manage expectations, and move Mom from “No” to “We’ll see” (readers are reminded that this phrase is “not binding”) to acquiescence. Temairik’s digital drawings tend toward the literal, though there are some clever moments (Sammy stands in an ankle-deep pool of tears in his initial tantrum, and various inside jokes and puns are tucked into the art). Lutz ignores her own advice and overreaches for a funny ending (Sammy negotiates his way to the presidency so he can get a pet elephant), but much of what’s in these pages hits the right notes of wit, nuance, and sophistication for an audience with a burgeoning sense of confidence. Ages 4–8. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Temper tantrums no longer working? "There are very few things in life that you can't get if you ask for them in a rational manner and offer something in return." Giving one of her fictional characters both the narrative voice and lead author credit, Lutz extracts canny principles from her adult novel Trail of the Spellmans (2011) that guide a lad named Sammy in dickering for ice cream and then a pet. Illustrated in large, simply drawn cartoons (some of which are drawn from the same source as the text), the negotiations demonstrate the sort of give-and-take required to reach an accommodation. These are embellished with side notes about managing expectations, sealing the deal ("The phrase ‘We'll see' is not binding"), setting realistic goals, the hazards of getting too aggressive and the value of persistence. This last is of particular importance if the chosen pet is, for instance, an elephant. The closing glossary both reinforces previously made guidelines and adds more: "Find out what your mark's weakness is (quiet, candy, wine, elephants) and you've got your negotiation in the bag." Firmly tongue in cheek, but even less sophisticated readers (and parents) should find these elemental suggestions helpful in getting to yes. (Picture book. 6-9, adult)

Kirkus Reviews