Grammar made easy!




Although this book was written with a target audience of children aged 9-12, this is THE book for anyone who hates grammar but wants to be a better writer.




Filled with easy explanations of what the various parts of speeches are, how to use them, and plenty of cartoons to make the reading more enjoyable, anyone can learn the rules of grammar.

I liked the clear examples the author used to demonstrate such concepts as sentence subjects and predicates.




For example, he uses the following sentence to help clarify this:




Pencils always break just before a big test.




(Remember the little cartoons I mentioned? I couldn't help but smile when I saw, next to the sentence, a cartoon of a little pencil, his mouth open with a little scream coming out of his mouth as he gapes at the paper titled 'Test' in front of him.)




Marvin then asks, "What things is that sentence about?" Pencils. "What things always break?" Pencils. So in this example, 'pencils' is the subject of the sentence.




Marvin Terban even makes sense out of such scary-sounding words as 'conjunction' and 'preposition!' He covers punctuation, parts of speech, misused words, spelling, even idioms.




Idioms are those phrases that mean more than what they say.




Idiom: "If I'm wrong about this, I'll eat my words."


Actual meaning: "If I made a mistake, I'll admit it."

This is not a book that can be truly 'finished' in the way a fictional work could be. This is a book to keep next to your computer, nestled right in there between your dictionary and your thesaurus.

Marvin Terban has been an English teacher for more than thirty years and has written over twenty books for children on the subject of writing. The man knows what he's talking about! He is well aware that kids don't like learning about grammar, yet he knows that it is possible to have fun with words!

It is so easy to use. Clearly laid-out, you can quickly find the information you need. It's written in such a fun and welcoming way, that you'll find yourself learning from it in spite of yourself, just by picking it up and flipping through it, and pausing at a section for a moment or two just to look at a cartoon! It has become my FAVORITE grammar book in a short time.

You don't have be between 9 and 12 years old to benefit from this book. Even if you're 90 or 120, this is the ultimate grammar book for those who hate grammar!




If I'm wrong about this, I'll eat my words!

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Created Mar 09, 2002 at 1:44pm • Submit your own review...