Review Detail

Donahue, Moira Rose. 2008. Penny and the Punctuation Bee.

Penny is a period who likes to be in control. In Penny and the Punctuation Bee, readers meet quirky characters that embody punctuation marks. There is Penny, the period, Connie, the comma, Quentin, the question mark, and Elsie, the exclamation point, etc. With a school setting, this book focuses on a big school event: the punctuation bee. Participating students will be competing for a trophy. What is a punctuation bee? Well, each student is given a word. The student must use that word in a sentence using their punctuation mark. (Penny must use a period; Elsie must use an exclamation point; Quentin must use a question mark, etc.) They get a point for each time they use it correctly. If you're able to use more than one of your punctuation mark in a sentence, then you get bonus points. The competition is fierce. Penny is determined to win since the exclamation points tend to have an advantage in most competitions. Can she do it? You'll have to read for yourself and see!

Learning about declarative, interrogative, and imperative sentences (as well as individual punctuation marks) isn't always fun in the classroom setting. But this book may ease readers into the process and make it slightly more fun.