Robin Pulver

Robin Pulver attempts to address punctuation in a “fun” picture book for kids, but it all comes across as a bit gimmicky to me and is far less humorous and instructive than Lynn Truss’s delightful trilogy ( Eats, Shoots & Leaves; The Girl’s Like Spaghetti; Twenty-Odd Ducks). In Pulver’s book, Mr. Wright, an elementary school teacher, decides on a hot, sticky day to give punctuation—which he’s apparently been arduously teaching—a “vacation” . . . literally. Upon hearing show more this announcement, the kids cheer and rush out for recess while the baffled personified punctuation marks make statements entirely in keeping with their use. For example the question mark asks: “Is this the thanks we get?” while the exclamation point enthuses: “Great!” It is the period that suggests a vacation. If the marks leave, he points out, the kids will soon realize how needed punctuation is . . . as, of course they do. This is where the narrative gets lame. Mr. Wright can’t perform the afternoon read-aloud. Nothing makes sense.

When the class receives a bundle of postcards from their punctuation pals, the students have to borrow unruly, uncooperative punctuation from another class—Mr. Rongo’s—in order to write a response begging the originals to return from their vacation on the lake.

I know some teachers have been delighted by this book. I’m not one of them. There is enough humour in incorrect use of punctuation without a silly story to be required. Furthermore, because the (drawings of the) postcards from the vacationing punctuation people are quite small (and hard for a larger group of listeners to see), the book doesn’t make for an easy, intimate read-aloud. A document projector would need to be used for a class of kids to see the punctuation being used, and, in my opinion, that kind of wrecks things.

This isn’t a dreadful book, but it’s not a great one either. I’d stick with Truss. show less

Grades 1-3

Robin Pulver and Lynn Rowe Reed team up again for the newest addition to the Language Arts Library, this time with a humorous look at suffixes. It's the last day of school and the kids are griping about Mr. Wright's announcement that they will be studying word endings. When the suffixes overhear that the students will be "tackling" the subject after lunch, they are worried that they need to get into shape for such a physical confrontation, and head for the gym. Mr. Wright and the show more students don't know where the suffixes have disappeared to, and start putting up posters to find them. Realizing that the students don't want to physically harm them after all and that they ARE appreciated, the suffixes leave clues around so that the students can find them again. Playful use of text makes suffixes throughout the story easy to identify, and Reed's illustrations give -ing, -less, -ful, and the various other word endings plenty of personality. The last two pages include helpful rules and clues about adding suffixes to words. A winner! show less

I thought this was going to be another one of those saccharine mommy (or in this case daddy) love books and avoided it for some time. I should have realized that Robin Pulver's conventional but cheery stories and Alley's endearing pen and ink style would not let me down.

Mimi loves her special days with her dad. Every Saturday is Dadurday and together they plan wonderful adventures, from making pancakes to going to the library. But what will happen to Dadurday when Dad's work schedule show more changes?

Pulver and Alley have created a story that's sweet without being saccharine. Kids and parents will easily recognize their own feelings of disappointment and frustration when things don't work out. I loved that the author portrayed so clearly a child's devastation when a tradition that they've come to expect ends and the frustration with grown-up concerns that don't make sense in their world. There's no happily-ever-after where Dad's schedule gets changed back and everything comes right, but Mimi manages her own happy ending, growing up a little as she learns to be flexible and see things from another perspective.

There's plenty of solid cheeriness in Alley's illustrations showing the mischievous dog, tired Dad, and exhausted Mom, not to mention the twins, but the real genius of the pictures is the simple delight the reader sees in the bond between father and daughter as they celebrate Dadurday together in many different ways.

Verdict: Of course this will be a popular choice around Father's Day, but it makes a sweet father-daughter read any time of the year. The best storytime audience will need to be a little older, say kindergarten to pick up all the details of the story and empathize with Mimi's feelings and actions.

ISBN: 9780802786913; Published 2013 by Walker Books/Bloomsbury; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to the library's order list show less

Where was this book when I was teaching prefixes? It is such a fun way to get the point across! Mr. Wright , the teacher, gets help for his prefix lesson from Abe Lincoln (played by Mr. Wright) and the prefixes in his classroom. I like how the prefixes are written in capital letters so they stand out in the words. The prefixes are clay-like characters with a prefix on their bodies. They speak through graphic novel-style bubbles. The book is lively, yet to the point. It is a marvelously show more updated grammar book. show less