Booklist (September 1, 2006 (Vol. 103, No. 1))
Among popular nonfiction titles for adults adapted for younger audiences, this picture book based on Truss'2004 best-seller about punctuation may be a surprise, considering most kids'indifference to the topic. Yet it proves very effective, thanks to entertaining repackaging that narrows the original's broad purview to the comma, and focuses on cartoonist Timmons'interpretations of humorous comma-related goofs akin to the one referenced by the title (the punchline of an old joke about a panda, here set in a library rather than a bar). While dissolving into giggles over the change in meaning between "Eat here, and get gas,"or "Eat here and get gas"(likely to be the most popular of the 14 sentence pairs given), children will find themselves gaining an instinctive understanding of the "traffic signals of language,"even without the concluding spread explaining the whys and wherefores. This is a no-brainer for language arts class, but also recommend it to fans of Jon Agee's books of palindromes, William Steig's delightful alphabet rebuses, or introductory grammar books by Brian Cleary.
Let's be real honest. For people who get grammar, grammar is easy. For those that struggle with grammar, it's not just hard. It's torture. I found Eats, Shoots and Leaves Why, Commas Really Do Make A Difference by Lynne Truss grabbed both my grammar experts and my novices. It's a quick fun read aloud that reinforces the use of commas The great thing is that the back includes an explanation of the meaning of the sentence changes based on how you use the comma. The author also published a book about apostrophes called The Girl's Like Spaghetti.
Posted by Kellie Hale
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