Basher Punctuation

Gr 4—8—This slim volume uses catchy graphic design and an informal narrative to spark interest in the subject. In a presentation reminiscent of manga and Saturday-morning cartoons, each punctuation mark is introduced as a unique character who conveys his job through chatty dialogue. For example, Question Mark is characterized as a "wily detective," while Single Quotation Marks provide "a bit of he-said-she-said," and the Comma Twins are a "trusty twosome" who love interruptions. "Nobody, but nobody, tells us not to interrupt!' they declare. 'With us around, you can interrupt yourself, too, right in the middle of a sentence.'" Organized into chapters that cover different groupings ("The Basic Bunch," "The Comma Crew," etc.), the book explains the various uses of each mark and some basics of sentence structure. Though the casual, first-person narration may appease some reluctant grammar students, the style may be confusing for kids seeking basic information and for non-native English speakers. An illustration of each punctuation-mark personality accompanies its one-page description. A poster showing all of these characters is included. Unfortunately, some images are less iconic than was clearly intended, and students may be hard-pressed to remember which punctuation mark they are looking at from the illustration alone. While the information is solid, the colloquial delivery marks this as an additional purchase. Refer to Marvin Terban's Punctuation Power (Scholastic, 2000) for your core collection.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI