Best-Selling Life Lessons For Kids

Back-to-school time may be weeks away, but the season's surprise on the best-seller lists is a how-to for academic success. Ron Clark, 31, author of The Essential 55 (Hyperion), is an earnest Atlanta-based grade-school teacher who has come up with 55 rules for "discovering the successful student in every child." What magical formula has the educator discovered? His core philosophy is that if you teach basic behavioral lessons first, they will lay the foundation for academic education later. Among his tips for kids: make eye contact when in conversation, meet your deadlines, learn the names of all the teachers in your school and greet them, say thank you within three seconds of receiving something and accept that you are going to make some mistakes. Clark, who has taught in poor neighborhoods in North Carolina and New York, also gives a primer on basic etiquette, such as how to conduct yourself in the school cafeteria (do not save seats) or a movie theater (do not talk). Clark's book is a handy blueprint for parents who want to equip their elementary-and middle-school children with the ABCs of mature behavior. --By Andrea Sachs