Pedaling to Perfect Punctuation

May 1, 2010
Gr 2-5-It's not easy making grammar appealing to young readers. Accomplishing that goal in two of these three titles is therefore something to praise. Teaching various grammar rules using a sports connection is the premise and it works fairly well with punctuation ("Pedaling") and similes and metaphors ("Snowboarding"). But trying to teach writing rules in 32 pages using a swim meet falls flat. The prewriting steps especially require more explanation. The planning/brainstorming step and creating a word web are not described or defined satisfactorily, and the rewriting and editing process is not well illustrated. The colorful, action-filled drawings help to convey ideas and keep things lively in all three titles, but they work best in "Snowboarding". Clever names are used in all three books, such as Tour de Chance for the bike race and kids' names like Sue Z. Kew, Rex Less, Nancy Legstrong, and swimmers Clora Eene and Francie Finn. Children should like that humor. If your library could use updated grammar guides for young readers, those on punctuation and simile and metaphors are serviceable additions. Better choices include Lynne Truss's "Twenty-Odd Ducks" (Putnam, 2008), Norton Juster's "As: A Surfeit of Similes" (HarperCollins, 1989), Sue Young's "Writing with Style" (Scholastic, 1997), and Sandy Asher's "Where Do You Get Your Ideas?" (Walker, 1987)."Kate Kohlbeck, Randall School, Waukesha, WI"

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