What Adrienne Thinks About That

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May 15, 2007

Brush Up Your Punctuation

[Editor's Note: This is my latest column over at the MCLS Web Site.]

In my world, people have heated arguments about why, say, The Chicago Manual of Style is way better than the AP Style Guide (which, in case you’re wondering, it is). Most people think that there are hard and fast rules about when one needs a comma and when one doesn’t, but that’s just not the case in English. Ours is a messy, ever-changing language spoken all over the world. Rules about punctuation and usage can be fluid and are often interpreted by different people – even hallowed institutions – in different ways. Still, there are some rules governing punctuation that aren’t worth arguing, and many of us word nerds are out to try to raise the next generation of people who will care deeply about the placement of a comma and proper use of an apostrophe.

Either that or all these picture books about punctuation are the result of the No Child Left Behind Act, but I like my subversive nerd theory better.

Local author Robin Pulver led the pack in the punctuation game with her Punctuation Takes a Vacation, illustrated by Lynn Rowe Reed, in 2003. What I love about this book is that as long as one has a notion that punctuation means SOMETHING, the story is readable and fun. It’s more fun if you understand a little bit about how commas work or what an exclamation point can contribute to a sentence, but, if you don’t, the book is silly enough to hold the reader’s interest. More than a story about punctuation, it’s a story about a class that suffers the consequences of slacking off, and, well, we all know what that’s like. Still, the engaging story combined with back matter that addresses basic punctuation rules makes this a good choice for classrooms and, even better, tutors and parents looking to offer elementary students beginning to explore punctuation additional support.

Lynne Truss caused a splash in 2004 with her best-selling book about punctuation for adults, Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. In 2006, Truss hit the children’s market with a picture book, Eats, Shoots and Leaves: Why, Commas Really DO Make a Difference!, illustrated by Bonnie Timmons. The book consists of the same sentence punctuated differently on facing pages with corresponding illustrations. So on one page, “Becky teased the boy with the fluffy duck,” shows a girl blowing raspberries at a boy holding a stuffed duck. On the next, “Becky teased the boy, with the fluffy duck,” the girl is holding the stuffed duck just out of the distressed boy’s reach. The examples make a good point about the strengths and weaknesses of this book. The illustrations are an effective way to show what the sentence is getting at, but, on occasion, Truss resorts to awkward and poorly-crafted sentences. (Case in point: “Becky teased the boy, with the fluffy duck.” That's not the kind of sentence that deserves its own page.) Of course, most of the sentences are just fine, and Truss includes a page of explanations in the back of the book. I’d use this with fifth and sixth graders who are ready to think a little harder about commas.

2007 brings us the newest picture book in the crowd: Greedy Apostrophe: A Cautionary Tale by Jan Carr and illustrated by Ethan Long, a picture book that relies on the audience’s understanding of the proper use of an apostrophe in a plural possessive. Personally, I spend a lot of time contemplating the various uses of punctuation, so I think this book about a maverick apostrophe that causes chaos by intentionally misplacing himself is pretty funny. However, most adults screw up possessives with some regularity, and no wonder – it’s sophisticated stuff. I dare you to find the elementary school student who can define the word “plural” and the word “possessive” so much as the child who can articulate how apostrophes work. Kids don’t have a chance unless the book is used in the course of instruction, and I have to admit that it makes me kind of sad to think of a room full of elementary school students being harassed about something most adults – even, in some cases, their teachers – don’t understand. It seems like a good way to make children hate writing. That said, I could see this book used to some effect with teenagers and college students, people who are more ready to tackle the intricacies of English construction.

Grammar, usage, and punctuation are important to me. I mean, hello, I’m a writer. Still, I prefer teaching these things with the light touch these picture books favor. Teach people the basics, teach them to use style guides, and don’t make them feel badly when they don’t understand everything or make a mistake. Goodness knows, we all need an editor sometimes, and there’s always more to learn.

Posted by adrienne at May 15, 2007 07:13 AM

Comments

Posted by: Kelly Scroger at May 15, 2007 08:58 AM

Posted by: Liz Garton Scanlon at May 15, 2007 10:26 AM

Posted by: adrienne at May 16, 2007 10:21 PM

Posted by: Little Willow at May 16, 2007 10:37 PM

Posted by: Little Willow at May 16, 2007 10:38 PM

Posted by: adrienne at May 17, 2007 12:33 PM

Posted by: Little Willow at May 17, 2007 11:08 PM