I was looking for a nonfiction picture book for my son at the library the other day when I saw Eats, Shoots and Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference by Lynne Truss. I enjoyed the grammar guide (Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation) by Lynne Truss so this caught my eye. If the grammar guide is too much for you, then this might be just right.

Read the subtitle to this book again: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference. That is what this about, commas. In just 20 pages, sentences are illustrated to show how commas make a difference in meaning, sometimes with very humorous results. Grammatical explanations are only included as an appendix: this is all about the illustrations (which I can’t post due to copyright).

The student, said the teacher, is crazy.

The student said the teacher is crazy.

I don’t think it belongs in the children’s section. It is just as clever as the book for adults, and it simply provides illustrated examples of how commas change the meaning of sentences.

Find it and read it, if only to laugh at the silly pictures!