HOW TO NEGOTIATE EVERYTHING
David Spellman with Lisa Lutz
May 2013
Simon & Schuster
HOW TO NEGOTIATE EVERYTHING may look like a children’s book because, well…it is. But it is decidedly not just for children. The hero of our book, a little boy in a checkered sports coat and blue shorts, learns how to negotiate with the toughest of the tough, the great NO-giver—his mom. He learns what is worth negotiating for (small pets, ice cream), how to close the deal, and what might be considered overreaching in the world of negotiations (for, say, an elephant). He is also taught the great lesson of persistence, in this case keeping at it until he becomes President of the United States and can relax on the couch with an elephant in the Oval Office; worthwhile lessons for all of us.
The humor is classic Lutz—subtle, clever and very funny, and the illustrations by Jaime Temairik are equally as clever and often downright hilarious. When you have a drawing of a pet turtle dressed as a secret service agent complete with dark sunglasses, you know you’ve found gold. HOW TO NEGOTIATE EVERYTHING is a spin-off from the TRAIL OF THE SPELLMANS, the fifth book in the Spellman series. The good news is that while you are picking up your copy of this delightful children’s book, you can also pick up the sixth Spellman book, THE LAST WORD. Luckily for us, neither will be the last word from Lutz.
– Erica Ruth Neubauer
