Bella's Rules

by Elissa Haden Guest, Abigail Halpin (Illustrator)

In the vein of Eloise and Marley, here's an adorable tale of two well-intentioned rule breakers who show each other how friends deserve to be treated

Bella knows her family's rules by heart, but she much prefers her Candy for breakfast, no hair-washing, and no such thing as bedtime. And then . . . Bella the wild child gets a new pet! At first, Bella and Puppy are the very best of friends. But when it turns out that Puppy doesn't like the family rules either (including the rule not to gnaw off Bella's teddy bear's arm), well...it's time for a little puppy training. And Bella might just learn a thing or two herself!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Dogs, Animals, Humor, Family, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2013

About the author

Elissa Haden Guest is the author of Baby Builders, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata and the award-winning Iris and Walter series illustrated by Christine Davenier. She holds an MFA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University and teaches classes in writing for children and young adults at College of Marin Community Education and Stanford Continuing Studies. She and her husband have two swell children and a hilarious little grandson. They live in San Francisco where they root for the Golden State Warriors.

Reviews

[Karina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars rounded down bc it is a kiddie book... not too great of overall story...
Bella is an out of control toddler who listens to no one. Her parents seem scared of her, too afraid to punish or spank her (she effin needs atleast one swat on the bottom) she is definitely an annoying little girl BUT my naughty 2 yr old girl loves the story and seems to love the bratty behavior.... except I'm NOT scared of her!!!! Lol... cute drawings though, just not much of a moral in it bc I'm not getting a dog...

[Danielley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. I got this book free from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, but I will be re-gifting it or donating it. I don't much like Bella, who is an out of control little brat and won't listen to her parents or babysitter. They give her a puppy, so she can teach the puppy rules. I feel the author missed the chance to drive home the point that Bella learned that rules are important through training her puppy. It's just not clear in the end that she learned the abstract lesson her parents intended. No, thanks, don't want my 3-year-old reading this! We'll read Richard Scarry's "Please and Thank You" instead!!

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice story about a little girl who does as she pleases. But when grandma comes with a puppy, Bella starts to realize that when you don't follow the rules, things get messy. It is a little far-fetched to think a little girl is going to figure out all on her own how to train a puppy, but it's a nice idea and could work as a teaching story to kids who don't like to follow the rules.

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must be missing something...

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the illustrations, the story is just okay.

[Judith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book at all. It was very random, but the illustrator did do a good job.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bella discovers she has something in common with her new puppy.

[Michelle Nero · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reason why we can't all have our own rules. A story about friendship and learning to follow the rules.

[Patricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rude, bratty child? Why yes, reward them with a puppy. Of course!

[Brianna Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really think the idea in this book could lead to a really impactful theme. However, it does not explain the connection between the puppy and the little girl needing the same rules.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bella is a sassy little girl that doesn't like the rules that her parents have, so she creates rules of her own! Rules that mostly include mischief! One day, they get the idea to give Bella a puppy. Bella starts to realize that while her rules are fun for her and the puppy, the puppy needs her own rules so she does the right thing. In the end, Bella ends up making new rules for herself that are much more reasonable. A great story about responsibility.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bella's Rules has fun illutstrations and is a great reminder to children onto why rules are set in place and how they help keep everyone safe. There is a lot of different fonts and text sizes outside of the actual reading that made the book a little busy to me and would defiantly be tough for young readers to follow without confusion.

[Josie Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bella has to follow a certain amount of rules from her parents. But likes to make her own rules which are way more fun to follow. The parents said her rules are too risky, rude and wild. During the book she ends up getting a dog which has a lot of attitude and causes a lot of trouble which makes her want to follow the rules.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bella didn't want to obey her parents' rules, she had her own - which often landed her in trouble. When Granny brought her a special friend, Bella began to understand how important it is to follow good rules. Wonderful illustrations.

[Jamie Puckett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute way to teach little kids about the importance of rules!

[Tobey James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars only because of the puppy.

[Isabel Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bella only listens to her own rules. She then gets a puppy and helps the puppy learn new rules. Not only does the puppy learn things but so does Bella. This book is okay.

[Brandi Conico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maddy picked this one out today. It’s a cute story. Well illustrated about Bella who learns about why rules are sometimes important. Definitely a good one to read to a kid who makes his own rules.

[Nanny B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book where the child misbehaves and gets rewarded. She doesn't follow the rules and get a puppy! Promotes rule breaking and misbehavior.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this one, and it makes a good conversation starter about the importance of family rules.

[Hannah Joly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to teach students how it’s important to follow adults rules even if you may not agree with them

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bella’s Rules, a story written by Elissa Haden Guest, is a story about a little girl named Bella who knew all the family rules. She, however, liked her own rules much better. She liked candy for breakfast, no bedtime, and being in charge of everything. Bella gave her babysitter a run for his money. She was not cooperative and when her parents came home they had to talk to her about their rules. Bella wrote a note to her babysitter apologizing. Her parents invited her grandmother to visit and her grandmother brought a gift; it was a puppy! Bella loved her new puppy and her puppy loved her. However, Bella realized that her new friend was a big responsibility and didn’t follow the rules very well. Little by little, the puppy learned rules like going potty outside, how to play nicely, and how to listen. Bella was happy when her puppy finally learned how to follow the rules. I think this is a good book to read to preschoolers-first graders. This is a great book that showcases the theme of rule following and responsibility. This book shows kids that rules are important to follow because sometimes, messy things can happen when they aren’t. This reminds me of the time I broke my first grade teachers ceramic bell because I was running in the classroom. I felt awful but she forgave me and reminded me that’s why we have rules. I think this book would be a fun read for kids and a good reminder to follow the rules!

[Christine Turner]

In the vein of Eloise and Marley, here's an adorable tale of two well-intentioned rule breakers who show each other how friends deserve to be treated Bella knows her family's rules by heart, but she much prefers her own: Candy for breakfast, no hair-washing, and no such thing as bedtime. And then . . . Bella the wild child gets a new pet! At first, Bella and Puppy are the very best of friends. But when it turns out that Puppy doesn't like the family rules either (including the rule not to gnaw off Bella's teddy bear's arm), well...it's time for a little puppy training. And Bella might just learn a thing or two herself!


Subjects



Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction


Animal behavior -- Juvenile fiction.


Dogs -- Training -- Juvenile fiction


Animals -- Infancy -- Juvenile fiction


Families -- Juvenile fiction

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 3 year old granddaughter received this as her Dolly Parton Imagination Library month book. It was an okay book, in my opinion. The lesson was 'there' but I didn't feel like the story brought it full swing as well as it could have been. A little girl is being naughty and wants things her way "her rules" and doesn't want to mind her parents. She gets into trouble when the babysitter sits with her one night. Her grandma brings her a puppy and in taking care of her puppy she learns that rules are there for a reason. Again I think the reason and the meaning is there just didn't come through the story very well.

[Aleece · Rating 4 out of 5]

What kid doesn't have their own set of rules. Bella has her own set of rules that her parents don't approve of but Bella doesn't see anything wrong with her rules until she gets a puppy and he seems to have his own set of rules too.

This is a good book to teach children that you can have fun but at the same time there are times when rules are needed. The illustrations are very cute and colorful with not your traditional colors that you tend to see in books so it was very refreshing to see. Overall a very well written story with a good ending.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bella doesn't like to follow the rules--then she has to teach some rules to her new puppy. My middle child (currently 3), who also doesn't like to follow the rules, adores this book. I found the story only so-so, but I thought the pictures were beautiful. It's not entirely clear that Bella learns to follow rules in the end. However, the pictures of her exploits, and later of her parents helping her to train her puppy, were all very sweet.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bella knows the house rules, but she loves her own rules even more! She becomes a handful, and her parents think of an atypical way to help her learn how to behave properly.

This was an interesting story, and the characters are likable despite being troublemakers at times. Great illustrations!

[Arabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's like they stole my life! I also have a best friend named Puppy, but he's a stuffed animal. He even looks a little like the real dog in this story. And he does some of the same things, too! I checked this out of my town's library and was surprised and happy to see it was donated by the family of a teacher at my school in memory of her little girl who died in a car accident.

[Devone Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Bella's Rules" is a cute story about how an unruly little girl learns a lesson about behavior from her dog. Little Bella doesn't understand why her parents don't like her rules until she gets a puppy who behaves the same way that she does. The book ends with both Bella and the puppy behaving better and being rewarded. I liked this book and would recommend it.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bella has trouble following the rules, but when she is given a puppy she is challenged to establish boundaries and enforce them.

Illustrations were rendered in watercolor, graphite, colored pencil and finished digitally. PreK-2.