Language Arts

Twenty-Odd Ducks

Book cover: Twenty-Odd Ducks
Author(s): 
Lynne Truss
Illustrator(s): 
Bonnie Timmons

Lynne Truss does it again, this time stressing the correct use of the hyphen, parenthesis, question and exclamation marks and also more comma use. I feel that my younger kids will have a wonderful and visual grasp of punctuation as they grow up exposed to Truss' humor and fresh approach to grammar! If you haven't enjoyed her first punctuation picture books, don't miss them: Eats, Shoots and Leaves and The Girl's like Spaghetti!

There's a Frog in My Throat

Author(s): 
Loreen Leedy
Pat Street
This is a clever, very colorful picture book with a simple purpose. It illustrates, with funny little cartoon illustrations, hundreds (440 to be exact) of common expressions in the English language that involve animals, such as: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." "Mad as a hornet." "I have butterflies in my stomach." "You're putting the cart before the horse." A short definition of the phrase's meaning is also included. This is a fun idea for exploring our language and it's amazing just how many expressions fit into this category?

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind

Book cover: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind
Author(s): 
Jessie Wise

Intended for use in first and second grades, the 200 completely-scripted lessons in this textbook are a complete guide in "How to Teach English to Young Children". The non-consumable book is actually a textbook for the teacher rather than the student. Lessons are completely secular and include portions of classic poems, stories and rhymes. Also included are original poems and stories as well as a few selections that have been adapted for young children. Pictures are black-and-white line drawings rather than photographs or color reproductions.