Punctuation Takes a Vacation

by Robin Pulver, John Beach (Read by)

Overview

"This is that rare audiobook that truly makes the print version come alive. The sound effects alone are priceless, with homage to Grammy Award-winner Bobby McFerrin. If you've ever wondered what punctuation marks sound like, Beach provides hilarious voices and sound effects for each one. A masterful, creative, amusing, must-have production that simplifies the rules of punctuation." -School Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781430130536
Publisher:	Live Oak Media
Publication date:	01/01/2018
Series:	Live Oak Media eReadalong
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	33 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 9 Years

About the Author

Robin Pulver is a popular picture book author whose website is robinpulver.com. She lives in upstate New York.

Lynn Rowe Reed writes and illustrates picture books and lives in Indiana. You can visit her website at lynnrowereed.com

Editorial Reviews

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)

Kirkus Reviews

★ "Pulver's clever story moves along at a nice clip and makes its point without belaboring the matter. Reed's acrylics-on-canvas illustrations are rich in color and texture, and add to the amusement of the story. A lighthearted choice to be read independently or used to introduce a language-arts lesson."—School Library Journal, Starred Review
 
"Pulver, the author of the ''Mrs. Toggle'' books, gives each punctuation mark its own personality. The quotation marks can't stop talking, the colons are always telling time, and the exclamation points stand on their heads in excitement. A helpful listing at the end (''Punctuation Rules!'') summarizes everybody's job. And Lynn Rowe Reed's childlike acrylic paintings perfectly capture the mood of whimsical fantasy. Try to imagine a bikini-clad comma on water skis."—The New York Times Book Review
 
"Pulver . . . 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. . . . 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."—Kirkus Reviews
 
"Reed paints with a funky, naïf style using zippy oranges, teals, purples and cobalt blues. Facial features as elemental as jack-o-lanterns and bodies as rubbery as Gumby heighten the fun as the quotation marks sunbathe side by side, the apostrophe waterskis and the exclamation point goes tubing. . . . Little will children realize how much they are learning, between the verbal shenanigans and the eye-popping illustrations."—Publishers Weekly
 
"A straightforward list of punctuation rules rounds out this inventive and entertaining device for getting kids to understand usage, which proves that nothing makes sense without punctuation. Right? Right!"—Booklist

From the Publisher