Dinner at Alberta's (Children's book, 1975)
Arthur Crocodile has terrible table manners. He talks while he is eating and bits of ravioli get on his sister. When his family complains, he goes to his room and turns up his electric guitar. But when his sister Emma brings home her friend Alberta, Arthur finds he wants to impress her, and when Emma and Arthur are invited to Alberta's for dinner, he is on his best behavior. He even teaches some manners to Alberta's brother, Sidney, though some injuries are involved.
Review quotes:
"Here's an author/illustrator match that might have been made in heaven. What Marshall's lovably lumpish, light-headed characters have needed all along is a dose of the kind of home-truth psychology that underlies Hoban's sense of humor."
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