As Morgan mentioned earlier, today's Paperback Book Day! (If you haven't already checked out her post on the history of paperback books, you really should!) In the meantime, for my second-ever Word Nerd Wednesday post, I thought it'd be fun to round up a few of my favorite punctuation-centered paperbacks. Are there any that you'd add to this list? I'm always open to suggestions!
For Kids:
- Punctuation Power and Checking Your Grammar by Marvin Terban. I may or may not have copies of both of these on my desk. What can I say? They're super helpful (not just for kids!).
- Punctuation Celebration by Elsa Knight Bruno, illustrated by Jenny Whitehead: This picture book features playful poems about punctuation, perfect for kids in grades K–3.
- Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver, illustrated by Lynn Rowe Reed. A picture book about punctuation? Yes, please. Kids grades K–2 will love this silly story about how difficult life can be without punctuation.
- Woe Is I Jr. by Patricia T. O'Conner, illustrated by Tom Stiglich. Think of this as a funny Strunk and White for kids in grades 4–8. O'Conner, a former editor at The New York Times, makes grammar both entertaining and easy to understand.
- I also stumbled across a blog post listing ten children's books about punctuation. Some of the blogger's suggestions: Punctuation Station, If You Were a Question Mark,and The Greedy Apostrophe: A Cautionary Tale.
For Adults:
- In addition to Punctuation Power and Checking Your Grammar, which I mentioned above, there are a few Word Nerd books I simply couldn't live without. The first: The Copyeditor's Handbook by Amy Einsohn. This guide has been my lifesaver in many grammatically sticky situations. I highly recommend it! (Thank goodness it's a paperback—it'd be too big to lug around otherwise!)
- The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style are obvious choices, but they both come in handy when I need to reference something specific. (They have great online resources, too.) And did I mention that the Associated Press hosts Twitter chats using #APStyleChat?! Tuning in immediately!
- Another staple? Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss. Punctuation meets comedy? Yes, please. This bestseller is supposedly "not a grammar book," but it's incredibly useful—even if you're not British.
- My ninth grade English teacher (whom I mentioned in my first Word Nerd Wednesday post) was the one who introduced me to Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, but it was an illustrated copy that a friend gave me last year that really hit home. Now I love it for both practical and sentimental reasons.
What are your favorite grammar and/or punctuation paperbacks? Leave us your suggestions!
