Product Description

Commas and apostrophes aren’t the only punctuation marks that can cause big trouble if they’re put in the wrong place. Now, Truss and Timmons put hyphens, parentheses, quotation marks, periods, and more in the spotlight, showing how which marks you choose and where you put them can cause hilarious mix-ups.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #180983 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780399250583
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 3–6—This follow-up to Eats, Shoots and Leaves (about the importance of commas) (2006) and The Girl's Like Spaghetti (about apostrophes) (2007, both Putnam) emphasizes the importance of punctuation in general. Truss again makes the case that careless application can dramatically change one's meaning. To prove her point, she provides contrasting examples of the same sentence, punctuated in different ways. Timmons's charming watercolors make the change in meaning clearer. In one example, a child gazes at a tower of presents obscuring a Christmas tree, and Truss writes, "'Do you know who came last night? Santa Claus,' said my mom." On the facing page, Santa addresses his elves-"'Do you know who came last night?' Santa Claus said. 'My mom.'" (Needless to say, no pile of presents accompanies the arrival of Santa's mom.) In each example, the pertinent punctuation marks are printed in red. An afterword provides additional explanation for each pair of examples. The references to royalty and Christian tradition point to the book's British origin, but Truss's examples should still be clear to North American students. Twenty-Odd Ducks will be most effective through guided reading in small groups, though savvy children may enjoy it as an amusing pleasure read.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI
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Review
Twenty-Odd Ducks will be most effective through guided reading in small groups, though savvy children may enjoy it as an amusing pleasure read. --School Library Journal

About the Author
Lynne Truss is constantly tempted to correct punctuation on signs, advertisements, movie posters, and more. She lives in London, England.

Bonnie Timmons is best known for inspiring and creating images for the television show Caroline in the City and illustrating numerous national ad campaigns. She lives in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.

Customer Reviews

Twenty-Odd Ducks
Awesome for all ages when trying to show how important punctuation and inflection are to meaning. I've used it with young elementary students and college students, too....ageless message!

Good book
This book is small, and will not completely teach your child the concepts alone. However, it is a great fun supplement and an easy read. It really helps them to "see" what the concepts mean. Cute pictures help the make a "boring" topic a little more fun and interesting.

Learning with humor
I bought this book, along with several others in the series, for use in homeschooling my daughter. The series is excellent to have around for spontaneous reading. It helps with identification of proper punctuation, while simultaneously helping children work out different word meanings. Great for elementary brain processes. I was very happy with all of this series.