Table manners

Table Manners is a collaboration between Vladimir Radunsky and Chris Raschka. The book takes a subject usually handled with stiff seriousness — etiquette — and turns it into a playful, theatrical performance. The story follows two friends as they attempt to understand the rules of polite dining, a process that becomes more comic than instructional. The humor lies in how the rules are presented as grand and almost absurd, while the illustrations show the inevitable blunders and awkwardness.

Radunsky’s bold, collage-inspired visuals give the book its sharp, satirical edge, while Raschka’s contribution shapes the rhythm and tone of the narrative. Together they avoid turning the book into a conventional manual and instead create something closer to a satire in picture-book form. The result is a work that entertains children with its exaggerated mishaps, while adults will catch the sly commentary on how arbitrary and performative manners can be.