PERIODS SAY "STOP."

Dahl and Garbutt launch a punctuation
series with this look at an essential mark: the period.

A period clad in a hard hat
introduces readers to its job, though other periods also interject their two
cents in dialogue bubbles. Dahl emphasizes the sentence-ending job of a period,
devoting a few pages to its use in abbreviations. Garbutt poses the roly-poly
periods, who sport stick arms and legs and expressive faces, in humorous
situations. For instance, they are menaced by a threatening run-on–sentence
tsunami or exhausted when a bunch of text doesn’t offer a place to stop and
take a breath. The pink, purple, and blue palette gives the book a retro feel;
text that is not a part of the story plays a role in providing readers with
examples. Though diligent and not without a sense of fun, the book is not a
total success. Small but vital details in the pictures make this difficult to
share with large groups or entire classes, limiting its usefulness, and while
some parts are a bit funny, it’s not likely kids will choose this on their own.
Backmatter includes a summary of the period’s uses, a glossary, scant lists of
resources for further information, and three critical thinking questions. Publishing
simultaneously are Commas Say “Take a
Break”, Exclamation Points Say “Wow!”,
and Question Marks Say “What?”.

Fills the bill for small-group
educational settings, but its audience is limited. (Picture book. 5-8)