Customer Reviews

The Punctuation Station

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We are fanatical fans of Brian Cleary's "Words are Categorical" series. If you haven't read those yet, do your kids and yourself a favor and get one. They are appropriate from under 5 to Middle School. When I noticed he now had a punctuation book we had to have it.

The illustrator and format is quite different from the Words are Categorical series. It is set up like a picture book and it is very cute. The storyline is amusing. It is geared towards the 4 to 7 year old set. Both my kids really enjoyed it but my 5 year old more so since punctuation is a somewhat new concept to him. We read it over and over and he loves to find interesting things in the pictures. He has definitely learned about punctuation.

What we have always liked about Brian Cleary is that his books are fun but very educational. I've used them as an ESL teacher in Japan as well as a homeschooling family and have leant them to other homeschooling families. This doesn't disappoint on that front. The kids learn and are entertained at the same time. Although it is for younger kids, I still highly recommend it. If you can get your kids to learn in a pleasant, non-threatening way on any subject I believe it makes their academic career much easier.

Where does a period go? What's the proper use of a comma? When learning the proper rules of grammar, sometimes remembering the rules of punctuation can be really tricky, particularly for children. Brian P. Cleary's The Punctuation Station illustrates how to use apostrophes, hyphens, etc and more in a clever rhyming trip with a family of giraffes.

Starting at Period Plaza, amongst other animals such as alligators, elephants, and cows, the giraffe family start their journey. Their destination? Punctuation Station.

Throughout their trip, they'll find how to use these marks.

These little signs will tell you when it's time to stop or pause

or help you tell a question from a sentence, phrase, or clause. - pg. 10

Signs and dialogue help point the giraffes (and children) on the right way to using punctuation marks. The illustrations of Punctuation Station make it a fun and zany colorful read. The bold text and jokes ("Excuse me, who catches all the running trains?") are visually appealing, and will attract the readers to follow the journey. Along the way, they'll be treated to the antics of a variety of animals, while learning effortlessly the proper use of the marks. After the lessons have been learned, children can return to this book to take in its depictions of bustling animals, there's much too many details to be noticed on a first read. If in need of a refresher, the end pages contain a punctuation primer.

I used this book for a Direct Teach in a fifth grade classroom and the children loved it! The book is very descriptive and helps the students know the differences of punctuation. The book was in great condition as well!

Reviewed by: Debbie Smart

The Punctuation Station, by Brian Cleary, is sure to be a hit for teachers as well as children. The text is written in fun rhyme as a family of giraffes boards a train headed for Punctuation Station. As the giraffe family journeys though the train station and onto the train they learn, "Punctuation comes in marks - some straight, some round, some curly." The story is written in playful rhyme showing the reader different types of punctuation marks as well as the proper usage of each one. A great reinforcement and resource are the final two pages of the book. These pages list all of the punctuation marks introduced in the book and provide an explanation of how they are used.

The Punctuation Station is illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. The illustrations are colorful and delightful. Readers will enjoy the rich colors and the humorous scenarios illustrated in this book. The illustrations are sure to make readers smile as they turn every page.

The Punctuation Station makes learning about punctuation fun for everyone. This book would make a great addition for any classroom as well as any school library. The many fans of the Words are CATegorical® series are also sure to enjoy this new publication.

Period Plaza Station is whirling with travelers getting ready to head out on their trains. Elephants, cows, pigs, dogs and raccoons are rushing about trying to get ready to go. Papa giraffe is scanning the departure board trying to figure out which track his family needs to head to. Comma Gulch, Questionable River, Quotation Valley . . . look, there is Punctuation Station on Track 3! After Mama giraffe buys her tickets the family will head to their track, but along the way they will see several signs that will tell them "when it's time to stop or pause and help [them] tell a question from a sentence, phrase, or clause."

"Punctuation comes in marks-

some straight, some round, some curly.

And once you get to know them,

you can punctuate quite surely."

Grandma, Mama, Papa and four little giraffes are all going to learn to how to use punctuation properly on the way to their station. They will see examples of several forms of punctuation. They will learn how to use the period, the comma, an apostrophe, quotation marks, the question mark, a hyphen and an exclamation point. The busy colorful station has many animals and signs that will show them the way to Punctuation Station in a fun and easy way!

This vibrant, exciting "rhyme-filled" journey to Punctuation Station is an easy way to learn about the proper use of punctuation. Each punctuation mark to be learned is placed in the upper left hand corner of a page in a mini sign. There is a rhyme that describes how it is to be used and then the colorful family of giraffes and other delightful animals guide the reader along the way. The vibrant, humorous illustrations are very enticing and even the most reluctant reader will scan the pages looking for clues as to how to use punctuation. For example when discussing the comma, there is a sign of Station Rules that says in part, "NO bare feet, running, yelling, spitting littering." In the back of the book is a section on "Punctuation Information." If you want to make learning punctuation painless and easy, come on board because this book is just the ticket!