Katie Comma

by B.B. Swann, Maja Andersen (Illustrations)

When Katie Comma is blown out of her book, she must search for her home. She deals with rejections from the sentences in which she tries to hide. Through this engaging character, young readers learn the proper uses for commas.

32 pages, Hardcover

Published November 11, 2019

About the author

B.B. Swann is a mother of three young adults, a wife (of another big kid but don’t tell him she said that), and a 25+ year veteran teacher of little firsties. She has all the age groups covered and draws on their influence when writing her books. Picture book, young adult, new adult, and beyond, they all have one thing in common—life experiences, both the good and the challenging.

She graduated from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL with her Bachelor’s of Ed. in Early Childhood Education, then left the corn capital to receive her Masters of Ed. in Language and Literacy from National Louis University, in Chicago.

Originally from Winthrop Harbor, Illinois (go ahead, look it up, it’s a real place) she now resides in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Go Cards! is her new chant, but Bear Down will always rule her heart. She loves to run, binge watch Netflix health documentaries, and talk to her three kids when they have a minute to spare.

Most nights you can find her reading or writing into the wee hours. She believes in the almighty power of caffeine and battling old age with purple hair and lots of sarcasm.

Reviews

[Laura Roettiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Punctuation and more!
This book is one that I know will be read over and over in the classroom. There are two stories going on here which is also fun. The one on the surface is about where and when to use a comma, a question mark, etc. The other beautifully woven-in theme is finding your place in the world and where you fit in. I love stories where there are two things going on simultaneously so that you want to read it more than once!

[Edward Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A read-out-loud, creative, vibrant, and fun adventure capable of teaching all ages about sentence structure.
Almost inadvertently, B.B. Swan shows readers how to utilize a few other types of punctuation which are great teaching points during the story.

This will have a place on our "frequents" bookshelf as a great teaching tool in our household.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cute book to teach early readers what a comma is for.

[Ticia Rani · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining way to learn for kiddos of all ages. (I may have picked up a lesson or two.)

[Kelli Buschmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie Comma is an adorable story about punctuation AND finding your place in the world. When Katie Comma is blown off the page, she wanders through the books in her classroom trying to find where she belongs. The author’s flawless, clever writing turns learning how to use a comma into an emotional adventure. I love the repetition of “I’m Katie Comma. I feel so alone. I must keep searching to find my way home.” And I love how the last page has a similar repetition, but with a joyful ending. So fun to read! The illustrations are fun, bright, and beautiful. Wonderful book!