PUNCTUATION TAKES A VACATION

In a delightfully clever outing, a well-earned vacation results in chaos back in school when the punctuation marks head to Take-A-Break Lake. Mr. Wright’s class uses and abuses punctuation marks, without ever really giving them a thought and the marks put up with it all. But when Mr. Wright needs relief from teaching on a hot day and says, “Let’s give punctuation a vacation,” they discuss the matter (each mark uttering a sentence needing its own kind of punctuation, of course), and decide they should take a trip to prove to the kids just how needed they are. As the students struggle to understand anything in their classroom, each mark writes a postcard to the class showing off his or her special skills in punctuating sentences. The students finally borrow some mixed-up punctuation from the class next door and write to the vacationers begging them to return and promising that they will never be taken for granted again. Pulver (Way to Go, Alex, not reviewed, etc.) has outdone herself in this ingenious take on learning. Everything from the punctuation marks’ postcards to the endpapers emphasizes the importance of punctuation in our everyday lives. Reed’s (The Halloween Showdown, 1998, etc.) whimsical, child-like paintings put faces on each character, bringing them further to life as they cavort on the shores of the lake. What a fun way to teach; every language arts teacher needs this to punctuate their instruction, no matter the grade level. (Fiction. 5-8)