Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!

This is a great book to use when teaching commas- it really gets the point across to students why commas matter.

I thought this book was a lot of fun and could be helpful to someone who is struggling with comma placement. I wish I'd had this when I was in elementary school! However, I'm only giving it four stars because there is one example (maybe more, but I'm no expert) that is flat out wrong in its comma placement. Hello! I didn't notice any mistakes in the sequel, called The Girls' Like Spaghetti. That one has the same format as this one, but is about apostrophes. Very cute!

I am and English teacher in Mexico City and I bought "Eats, shoots & leaves" to use it with my students (25-30 y.o.) who were careless with their punctuation. After reading it they finally understood in a clear and fun way, how important punctuation is. They all enjoyed the book. I do too! It's a great tool for this purpose. I fully recommend it.

As a teacher of students with learning disabilities, I am always looking for something to teach needed skills in a new way. By the time they reach high school, students should have learned grammar and punctuation rules - but all too often haven't. I suspect this is partly because of the way they have been taught in the past, and I have found that presenting the information in a new and often humorous way helps students assimilate learning they have missed in previous years. I have used the original Eats, Shoots and Leaves in class, and the pictures in this version will be even more useful.

I ordered this book thinking it might be too young for my 9-year-old daughter. However, when it arrived it was pored over by not only my 9-year-old, but her 13-year-old brother as well. The copy I sent to my sister's children (ages 5 and 7) was also well-received.

I recommend this book as a fun tool to teach and to re-enforce proper comma usage. It is a subtle and pain-free way to influence your child's writing skills for good. Buy the book. You won't regret it.