Twenty-Odd Ducks: Why, Every Punctuation Mark Counts!

by Lynne Truss

Commas and apostrophes aren't the only punctuation marks that can cause big trouble if they're put in the wrong place. Now, Truss and Timmons put hyphens, parentheses, quotation marks, periods, and more in the spotlight, showing how which marks you choose and where you put them can cause hilarious mix-ups.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Teaching, Writing, Language, School

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 21, 2008

About the author

Lynne Truss is a writer and journalist who started out as a literary editor with a blue pencil and then got sidetracked. The author of three novels and numerous radio comedy dramas, she spent six years as the television critic of The Times of London, followed by four (rather peculiar) years as a sports columnist for the same newspaper. She won Columnist of the Year for her work for Women's Journal. Lynne Truss also hosted Cutting a Dash, a popular BBC Radio 4 series about punctuation. She now reviews books for the Sunday Times of London and is a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4. She lives in Brighton, England.

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could see this book being used in a classroom. You could have the kids read the sentence with the correct intonation in the words to show the changes with the different punctuation. It would be fun to have some kids act them out or say them aloud to the class. Some of them, however, I needed the pictures to make sense of the different meaning- I was glad for the answers in the back of the book- maybe you will too- for instance, the extra large pizza, and extra-large pizza. I also think the two page spread on the king talking and having his head chopped off could be skipped- maybe some kids would think this is funny, but it could have been eliminated from the book. The pages of the cowboy roped his steer ( on his horse). and The cowboy roped the steer on his horse. --were fun- you could have the students illustrate the same sentence with different punctuation and put it together for a class book. Truly, a fun way to explore punctuation and why it is important to our writing.

[Angela Galvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twenty-Odd Ducks by Lynne Truss is a story about punctuation marks. The story emphasizes the importance of punctuation. The book delivers the message regarding punctuation keeping words in group orders and sets the tone for the reader. The story has two pages with each containing a different meaning but the similar punctuation. For example, the page has a picture of a little boy sitting between his two parents, content. The wording states “These are Jack’s parents; who could be happier? “. The second page has a picture of a family in the living room surrounded by chaos and fighting, the caption reads “These are Jack’s parents, who could be happier.” This book would be a great enhancer for grammar. The book contains pictures that illustrated to match the caption. I do think that students would enjoy the book and see how punctuation and grammar impact writing.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truss gives a number of examples of the way in which punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence or phrase; for example, "twenty-odd ducks" is quite different from "twenty odd ducks." Another pairing that I really liked is:
"The queen: without her, dinner is noisy." compared to "The queen, without her dinner, is noisy." There are several other amusing examples. In the back of the book, Truss gives explanations for each of her examples. This author has a talented and witty way to impart information about English grammar.

[Barb Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommend for my word sister, if she has kids. Lol

[Nereida Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book since it taught the importance of commas, exclamation points, and periods in a fun and entertaining way. I think kids would really enjoy reading this book. Teachers could use it to introduce the concept of punctuations and the important roles they play in a sentence.

[Stephanie Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is similar in style to "The Girl's Like Spaghetti", which focuses on the apostrophe, and "Eats, Shoots and Leaves", which is all about the comma. It takes pairs of sentences, identical except for the punctuation, and shows side-by-side cartoons to illustrate that changes in punctuation can completely change the meaning of the sentence. These books are clever and fun to read. I enjoy that the other books Lynne Truss has written do not bother with pontificating on every grammatical nuance; rather, the reader learns by investigating. However, since this book is covering every punctuation mark rather than giving many examples for just one kind of mark, it kind of loses its power as a teaching tool. I think kids will have fun with this one, but I don't think they'll walk away with a clearer understanding of how to use punctuation.

[Ashley Jacobson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book does not really have a great audience. It's a picture book, suggesting it's for younger children. But the content would not be understood by a child that age. I appreciate that it is examples of different ways to punctuate sentences, 2 of each, and that is a great way to learn. But a child of picture book age will not understand what is going on without a lot of explaining. It's a good idea, but it just doesn't seem to work for me.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truss, Lynne Twenty-Odd Ducks: Why Every Punctuation Mark Counts, illustrated by Bonnie Timmons. Putnam (Penguin), 2008. PICTURE BOOK.

Truss and Timmons score another home run with another companion to the Eats, Shoots and Leaves book. This time all punctuation marks are involved in this wonderful new book. English teachers at levels need this book right now!

EL, MS, HS - ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library-Teacher.
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2008/...

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Date read: 10/29/2020
Date of review: 10/29/2020
Genre: Contemporary Nonfiction
Grade Range: K-1
The subtitle tells you all you need to know about skill this would be a great mentor text for: placing punctuation. The author comes up with lots of clever turns of phrase that change dramatically whenever a period moves ever so slightly to the left, or a question marked is inserted in a different place. Great illustrations as well!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to teach children the importance of punctuation marks and their proper use. Each page contrasts two sentences with the exact same words but completely different meanings because of the punctuation. The illustrations help kids grasp the meaning.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book very much! The examples are humorous but prove the point that correct punctuation is important. Illustrations do help understanding but are not overly enjoyable.

[Ita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining pictures of how a situation changes depending on the punctuation.

[Diana Pettis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!

[Beth Swahn]

This story uses fictional pictures to demonstrate why punctuation is so important.

[emyrose8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun for grammar lovers! I am definitely sharing this with my students. We'll see if they figure out the differences between the phrases.

[Genine Franklin-Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why, but I love grammar books. When I die, where will all these books (I have so many - it borders on obsession) find a home?

[Lillian Slater · Rating 3 out of 5]

Punctuation is important!

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these books by Lynn Truss. And my class loves the examples. Year after year.

[Kristin Eoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an English teacher, I really liked this book and its cute and expressive illustrations. I may try to show it to my sophomores this year.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Lynn Truss's books, but I was a little disappointed in the beheading page. It really freaked out my 7yo.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

12 pages with the same sentence written with different punctuation. 2 pages with short explanations of those differences.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a new generation behind us who believes it's perfectly acceptable to make up their own words and forego punctuation, this book was a must for my daughter's library. Lynne Truss takes her 'Eats, Shoots & Leaves' and puts it in simple terms for kids with a humorous twist. Ms. Truss makes it fun for kids to learn about punctuation without making it seem like they are "learning." Bravo!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining book about the importance of punctuation. By the author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves, this book is written to help children understand the importance of punctuation.
The book begins with an introduction from the author explaining that punctuation has two important jobs: 1 - keeping words in groups so that readers understand the intended meaning and 2 - conveying tone of voice.
The majority of the book features one sentence written with different punctuation on opposing pages. The illustrations help convey how the differences in punctuation change the meaning. There is a very nice section at the back that explains the differences (just in case you aren't sure!)
While this is an entertaining book, the fact that the author is British and the sentences have a more formal ring to them than typical American speech, drops this book down on my list of choices for use in the classroom. The sentence and illustration for "The king walked and talked half an hour after his head was cut off." might raise some eyebrows and questions in a classroom. If I were going to use this book, I would use it with students in upper middle to high school grade levels. It is short and might provide a bit of comic relief in a high school writing class.
If you are looking for a book to introduce the importance of punctuation to an elementary level class, I would recommend the fictional book "Punctuation Takes a Vacation". I thought is was more engaging and the language was a little more accessible to younger students in the United States.

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hyphens. Exclamation Marks. Periods. Question marks. Colons. Parentheses. Semi-Colons. Quotation marks. And yes, commas. Punctuation marks, make-all-the-difference, in the world when you read something? -OR- Punctuation marks make all the difference in the world when you read something. You get my drift.

Aimed at kids 8 and up, Lynne Truss takes an important piece of information and simplifies it so children can understand. And adults, too. She takes everyday thoughts and shows the importance of using proper punctuation. The tone of voice can be made with an exclamation mark!. A statement can be made into a question, yes? A period ends a statement.........or not. You get my drift.

The English language would make little sense if it weren't for proper punctuation. Two words become one with a hyphen. Semi-colons unite two separate thoughts. Quotation marks can change the meaning of a sentence. In other words, misunderstandings could be avoided. You get my drift.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation and Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference! (the children's version) by Lynne Truss, so this one was a hit as well. I loved the comic illustrations and format, but I would recommend it for older children and adults only. I found it somewhat difficult to explain the subtle nuances in the grammar to our girls (after all, they are only 3 and 5!), so we just enjoyed looking at the pictures together.

[Chelsea Rusch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twenty-Odd Ducks is a hilarious way to teach the importance of using proper punctuation to students. It will also do a great job of teaching students how to read punctuation when reading on their own. On each opening is the same sentence on both pages; however, the punctuation in each sentence changes the meaning. The illustrations match the sentences to help students see how the meanings are different. My favorite pair of sentences is "These are Jack's parents; who could be happier?" and "These are Jack's parents, who could be happier." The first illustration is that of a happy family perched on a couch. The second is of Jack's parents on the couch with their children going crazy around them. This book is so fun that students will be sure to be thinking about punctuation more critically!

[Erin Reilly-Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, this was okay but lacks the punch of Eats, Shoots & Leaves with the variety of punctuation types. It got especially lame with the ones where the punctuation is indicating inflection but could actually be read with the different meanings regardless of the . ? or ! I think it's definitely trying to hard and could have had funnier examples.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twenty-Odd Ducks: Why, Every Punctuation Mark Counts!
Truss, Lynne
I found on a list of great picture books for kids, this book illustrates the power of punctuation and how it can change the meaning of the sentence. making things mean drastically different things. in a text on picture books for the classroom

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great book to explain punctuation marks and it's different usage. The book shows how the placement of the punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence. Also, with your students you can practice how to read with enthusiasm. This book is an easy read and I believe the students will enjoy the book.

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a great idea for a book! Each page opens up to the exact same sentence used twice only with different puctuation for each that completely changes the meaning of the sentence. And, although some of the examples were not the best, most were really great and very humorous. My kids loved it and definitely grasped the idea that punctuation does matter.