Greedy Apostrophe A Cautionary Tale

It's the moment all the punctuation marks have been eagerly awaiting: assignment time, There are plenty of open positions for apostrophes as contractions soon there's only one job left--for a possessive--and only one apostrophe to fill it: non other than Greedy Apostrophe. It's not long before his greed gets out of hand, and he jumps into signs where he doesn't belong. What will it take to put Greedy Apostrophe back in his place? This clever and zany language arts picture book will have kids eager to learn the tricks of using an apostrophe. Editorial Reviews From Booklist A picture book about punctuation may not sound comical, but this one has a breezy narrative, fresh illustrations, and some laugh-aloud moments. All the punctuation marks stumble into the Hiring Hall one morning, sipping cocoa and discussing their job prospects. Each receives an important assignment, even Greedy Apostrophe, who has a well-deserved reputation for his bad attitude. Maniacal Greedy isn't content with doing his job (creating a possessive in a sign); he insists on confusing matters by inserting himself into words where he's not wanted. Greedy slips into a school classroom, altering signs such as "Pencils and Rulers" into "Pencil's" and Ruler's," until the students give chase. Since they can't catch him, he's still on the loose! Students are asked to be vigilant and to take Greedy away from all the places where he inserts himself but doesn't really belong. With jazzy colors and cartoon-style characters, the upbeat artwork gives personality to the inanimate while underscoring the witty, vivacious tone of the text. Unexpected fun for grammarians-in-training. Carolyn Phelan Copyright å© American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. Review In this zany tale of a problem with some apostrophes, the Director of Punctuation, an austere-looking felt-tip marker, calls all the punctuation marks to order at their job-assignment meeting. Of all those present, only Greedy Apostrophe refuses to recite the Punctuation Oath. Disaster strikes when he is given the last assignment-to show possession. He "was always getting in trouble with possession!" Though he listens to the explanation of appropriate usage, he runs amok when he enters the store, misapplying apostrophes to signs for puppets ("puppet's"), marbles ("marble's"), and yo-yos ("yo-yo's") and confusing the customers. Clever children at the school across the street quickly spot the mistakes, but Greedy Apostrophe eludes them and remains at large. The expressions on Long's bright and quirky punctuation people will delight early elementary listeners. The book incorporates clearer explanations and a wider array of apostrophe use than Moira Rose Donahue's Alfie the Apostrophe (Albert Whitman, 2006).Grade 1-3. Grade 2-3 Gibbons's view of our solar system may no longer be valid, but she's really focusing her attention so far beyond local space that the damage is minor. Between an opening description of the Milky Way and a closing claim that galaxy formation is still going on, the author depicts ancient astronomers at work, describes several kinds of telescopes, and profiles five distinctive galactic forms, from irregular to lenticular. Pairing brief, matter-of-fact generalizations leavened with digestible doses of specific information to painted scenes that link diverse groups of human observers to galaxies seen in blobby, broadly brushed portraits, this introduction to some of the universe's largest structures will put stars in the eyes of the most Earthbound young readers. John Peters, New York Public Library"