The foolish things we write or don't write, or in this case, don't add to our sentences, can change our word of mind entirely. The `comma', ladies and gentlemen, is what is talked about in this book. If you caught a glimpse if my title, you'll know what I mean. With my title in mind, I think you would agree with me, that having gas is natural and buying gas (as in the fuel) is something we do, but, being promised you'll have gas after eating in this certain place is nuts!-or, ah...beans? But that is exactly how the sentence comes out... without your comma(s) in the proper spot.

The vibrant and vivid pictures, coupled along with the short, funny, and should-be-obvious sentences, make this a catchy and creative book. The sentence/punctuation portion in the back of the book was helpful in explaining the differences in the various sentences and operations of them. I think personally, though, there should have been a bit more content in it, like, the sentences could have been longer perhaps a few more short stories could have been added.

This is a great book for kids, and, dare I say it, adults too; though I probably would not recommend buying it, but instead taking it out of your local library.

Eat here, and get gas -correct

-Jake Smithers

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

This children's version of "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" is filled with cartoons that clearly illustrate each point. I teach English for the ACT Test and recommend this book to all of my students. It's much shorter than the full length book and the cartoons actually make it fun to read. My students get a laugh from the ridiculous cartoons and learn basic punctuation in the process! It's a great intro for proper comma use.

What a great way for a teacher to bring home the lesson of the little comma. Students love this book and learn the lesson.

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 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.

This book was a best-seller in the UK and is good reading. It comes in a number of versions, including one with less text and more graphics that seems to make an impression on students in their early to mid teens. All versions are well written and enjoyable.

This isn't a textbook, but it sure is a funny way of looking at punctuation. I think it's value (beyond humor) is that it demonstrates the effect of bad punctuation and may inspire kids to care. Really though, I've shown the book to far more adults for it's humor value than anything.

This isn't a textbook, but it sure is a funny way of looking at punctuation. I think it's value (beyond humor) is that it demonstrates the effect of bad punctuation and may inspire kids to care. Really though, I've shown the book to far more adults for it's humor value than anything.

This book is great for introducing or reinforcing comma usage at any age!

I just read this book to my first grader, and it's great! His face absolutely lit up when he "got" it. I'm Type A about punctuation, and was very curious about this book. It does an excellent job of using simple sentences to illustrate how the placement of a comma can change the meaning of a sentence. I also liked the feature at the end of the book giving more technical answers to the differences.

This book is an absolute must for every one no matter what their age. It shows you just how ridiculous, hilarious or frightening it can be when you use incorrect punctuation. I bought the children's version for my grandchildren and the original version for my daughter who is an English teacher.
Ms. Truss writes in an entertaining fashion and gets her point across. The reading moves along quickly.

This book is great for teaching children why grammar and punctuation is important, how it can change the whole meaning of the sentence if the comma is in the wrong place.
As a charter member of the Grammar Police, I highly recommend this book!

This version of the book is intended for kids, but adults love it, too! I bought several copies to give as gifts for friends who teach english as a second or foreign language for adults. Its a fun way to illustrate the dramatic difference that a humble little comma can make. And, its especially effective for readers new to english.

Per my daughter: It was a very funny book, perfect for people of all ages who want to understand commas or enjoy a short book with great cartoons. (The rule explaining each example is in the back.)

I use this in the mornings for a warm up in my class. We look at a couple pages a day and try to guess the next page and what the picture might look like.

My eleven year old son got a kick out of this book. After trying to explain why commas are important, this well written (and illustrated) book made the point in just a matter of pages. I would recommend it to teachers and children between the ages of 7 and 12.

Who knew that grammar lessons could be so much fun - and so funny? Well, Lynne Truss, of course, and she took her knowledge to international bestseller lists when she wrote the adult grammar guide, Eats, Shoots, & Leaves. With that kind of track record, it's no surprise that the enterprising folk over at GP Putnam's Sons decided to adapt Truss' work for children. The result is a delightful little picture book that visually demonstrates the confusion that misplaced commas can create. Aided by Bonnie Timmons clever illustrations, this is one that parents and kids alike will enjoy - and learn from.
The book begins with the classic panda joke that launched the whole phenomenon, and no I won't repeat that joke here. Suffice it to say that it involves a panda, a librarian, and a few poorly placed commas in a reference book. From there, each two-page spread delivers a sentence whose meaning is radically changed by the placement of the commas within it. The left side of the spread shows the correct meaning, the right page shows the mixed-up meaning, often with grin-inducing style.
For instance, the sentence "Eat here, and get gas" shows a line of people filling up their cars with gasoline at a combination gas station and fast-food restaurant...but "Eat here ad get gas" shows patrons at a restaurant with, umm, shall we say intestinal stress.
Or, the sentence "Becky walked on, her head a little higher than usual," shows a young girl walking proudly away from a fine sand castle on the beach. However, the sentence, "Becky walked on her head, a little higher than usual," shows well, Becky walking on her head.
You can imagine the fun and silly moments the rest of this book includes in its demonstrations of comma usage for children! The last few pages review all the sentences in the book and give short, insightful explanations of the grammar rules that govern commas.
In all, Truss and Timmons have created a delightful resource and entertaining picture book suited for any inquisitive mind in your household. In fact, you may want to hide a copy of this book at your office...just in case!
BOOKBLOG RATING: A
--MN

Based upon the much longer "adult" book by the same name, EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES takes a cue from its progenitor and attempts to illustrate to kids the importance of commas and using them properly. The book has a series of illustrations accompanying each of the sentences to vividly display the different meanings in the sentences because of the commas. For instance, one of the sentences says, "Eat here, and get gas" and is accompanied by an illustration of a gas and food place. The next page says, "Eat here and get gas" and shows a scene in a restaurant with a person flying in the air because of a belch. The comparison might seem crude for older readers, but for children and juveniles it makes the point quite clear. At the end of the book there are two pages explaining the differences between each of the sentences and why the comma placement is so important. Overall, this is a great book to illustrate "why, commas really do make a difference." It's geared more towards children in Pre-K--5th grades, but from experience I know that it could be very useful as a tool in some middle school and even high school English language arts classes.

this reduced and illustrated book leaves you very unsatisfied, please buy the unillustrated version and laugh for hours on end.

I am a school librarian who can't keep the "older" version of this book on the shelves between teachers, students and their parents laughing their way through it.

When I saw a younger version listed in a bookstore, I made the mistake of buying it sight unseen and was quite disappointed. While the cartoons are amusing and the whole concept is good, I have found myself wondering why I paid so much for this book. Most of our kids page through it once and are bored by the time they get to the second reading.

It could have been so much better!

I'm an adult and an editor. This is so good. Maybe you should ask the grandniece to whom I've sent it...

The book's excellent illustrations really assist in understanding how punctuation can change the meaning in a sentence. I bought this for a Christmas present for my grandson.

I was led to believe this was the same as the book I had just finished. This was to be a gift. It was NOT clear that this was an abbreviated version of THE book. I was extremely disappointed when I received it AND had to go out and buy the REAL book for my friend. AMAZON needs to differentiate the difference CLEARLY.

This is an excellent adaption of the primary text. It seems well suited for the stated audience. I am much older than that audience and still found it quite amusing.

This tome is also an excellent gift for those whose comma placement has been driving you crazy for years. It would be a loud cry to get a clue or get a grip.

Warning - It is a very quick read (not counting self examination time).

I bought this book for my grandson for his 7th birthday. He is in the first grade, and he took it to his class to share. His teacher also liked it. It might be a little advanced for this age, but he really likes the funny stories, and I believe it has helped him understand the importance of punctuation. I recommend this book.

I loved the book for adults and I think that it is a wonderful book for children.

For anyone who bemoans the waning of proper punctuation in this era of email and text-messaging, this international bestseller traces the history of punctuation to explain why correct punctuation is essential to the written communication of meaning. This witty little treatise had me laughing out loud. I recommend it to all my students, despite the fact that I teach graduate courses in forensic psychology, not courses in English, grammar, or writing.

This book is wonderful. I teach 4th grade, and I am always telling my students how important punctuation is when writing. Teaching that point with the humor in this book makes an impact!

Our grandchildren range from 5 to 9 years old. We bought one for each grandchild. They all love it. Their parents have read the book to them and the younger ones get a kick out of changing the meaning by changing the punctuation and emphasis. Very educational.

As a teacher and mother of 7-year-old twins, I found this book right on target! I have a daily calendar of "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" quips, and the girls are happy to be able to get an age-specific taste of why Mommy is a punctuation stickler. They have read through the book several times, and they have each taken time to show me their favorite pages, explaining to me why the comma made such a difference.

Those who think this would only be for ages 4-6 are obviously not teaching 7 and 8-year-olds how to write and use punctuation correctly. If I were teaching middle school now, as I did previously, I would definitely use this book to make a point to students. I think it would bring a chuckle and make this "comma thing" more concrete. (I can see middle school boys in particular getting quite a kick out of "Eat here and get gas.)

Three cheers for Lynn Truss and Bonnie Timmons!

I had fun reading this book with my kids. Many of the examples were well chosen, and the pictures were always fun, and sometimes pretty clever. (Can you guess how they illustrated I've finally decided to cheer up, everybody!? I couldn't have.) But as an educational experience, the book ranges from unhelpful to misleading or false. The grammar lovers/parents that it targets should expect more.

The above is from a fuller review that I posted on my linguistics blog, Literal-Minded. Fuller linguistic details, and a list of the actual examples in the book can be found there.

My 9 year old thinks this book is hysterical. It would have been better if there were more to it for the price, but it's still worth buying!

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

In this easy to read, well-illustrated book by Lynne Truss (and illustrated nicely by Bonnie Timmons), 4-8 year olds are given colorful examples of "the power of the comma."

Examples: "Eat here, and get gas," versus "Eat here and get gas."

"The student, said the teacher, is crazy," versus "The student said the teacher is crazy."

Now I'd say this is a book for, say, 4-6 year olds. No more than 6. I think this is a book to be read to kids, not necessarily to have them read to themselves. One, it is fun to read, and kids and adults can joke about even more interesting examples of clever, contorted meanings. Two, it is a book that plants a seed for kids and adults seeing signs or other writings during the day that they can tease each other about. And if it makes kids AND adults more aware of the power of commas, so be it!

This is a fun, book to share. Try reading it to a crazy, kid!

The third reviewer below - An.McCracken - is a fake. He reviews countless books each day but he does not read the books, just paraphrases other people's reviews. REPORT THIS TO AMAZON. Click on (Report this) link under the review, next to the voting buttons.

Truss says commas are the most used and misused form of punctuation. The comma has the power to change the meaning of a sentence by connecting things that shouldn't be connected, or breaking apart things that should stay together.

Funny, with useful examples, but not worth $10.39-$15.99 - it's too short! Just read it in the bookstore.

If you are tired of explaining and re-explaining the importance of punctuation in writing, then this is the book for you. I originally purchased the "adult" version of this book, and while it is very clever, it is not appropriate for my students. This book, however, is perfect for my learning disabled 7th graders. Lynne Truss makes it quite clear why teachers are so picky about commas--they totally change the meaning of the sentence. The pictures help make it even more obvious that to get across the exact message, the writer must watch punctuation marks. The probably crude "gas sentence" is especially appealing to 7th grade boys. As a middle school teacher, I am no longer shocked or upset by crude pictures, statements, writing. It comes with the age group.

The endnotes that explain the rule for each picture add to the educational content.

This is another purchase I made over the summer--see "This is the Teacher"--that will be used and enjoyed by my middle school students. Nowadays students want to be entertained at school. Children will easily be entertained while learning the rules of grammar.

This relatively short treatise on punctuation is at times clever, at times plain wrong about punctuation, and actually contains a number of grammatical errors. Neverheless, it deserves the accolades it has received for its focus on the IMPORTANCE of proper punctuation. If you are one of those who gets apoplectic every time you see something like "The dog wagged it's tail," this is the book for you.

How does a book about how to use commas and colons properly have lodged itself at No 1 on bestseller lists? Maybe Lynne Truss' books success shows that it is not just a few reactionaries who care. Truss agrees it's selling off the internet and stickler-types probably don't do their shopping on the internet. Lynne Truss wonders if there might be readers whose higher education has given them at least a guilty conscience about what they have not been taught, suddenly thinking that perhaps it does matter and I wouldn't mind knowing this stuff. Those copies stacked in Waterstone's might show that there are plenty of people who want to be, as Lynne Truss puts it, 'virtuous'.

While Truss says that 'despair' gave this book its impetus, she does not sound despairing either in print or in person. The title itself is a joke, about an irate panda who walks into a cafe, orders a sandwich, eats it, draws a gun and fires two shots into the air. The waiter finds the explanation for this erratic behavior in a badly punctuated wildlife manual which the bear leaves behind: Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference! tells you the rules, but is also full of jokes and anecdotes. It is a sort of celebration of punctuation. You can't help cheering it on, because it has done such a good job in its humble way. She speaks of the delights of the semi-colon with relish. She has listened to the man from the Apostrophe Protection Society (yes, it exists) but does not sound like a member of any such group. "I was so worried when I wrote the book that people would assume that anyone interested in this subject would be small-minded". --Lynne Truss.

I don't really know where punctuation is going. But this is a very good moment to look at it and see what state it's in. The internet and emails have come along very conveniently for people who didn't learn punctuation and can therefore get by. Punctuation helps give rhythm and a tone of voice to writing, and Truss thinks it no accident that readers of emails often find it difficult to pick up the tone of the person who's written it, with all those dashes. The grace notes get lopped off and it becomes very bald. So people start needing exclamation marks and capital letters, desperately trying to express a tone of voice.

In the illustrated version of Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss shows how the placement of a comma can change the meaning of a sentence. Hilarious illustrations, great for showing kids the importance of punctuation and fun for adults!

Finally, a book that makes it easy to show eight-year-olds just why commas matter! Memorizing rules is fine and good, but it takes a touch of humor to make the lesson stick and Lynne Truss provides it. Only quibble--I could have done without the example sentence "Eat here and get gas."

You'll love it, and your kids will, too.

I just bought this book for my eight-year-old granddaughter, but I think I laughed about as much as she did. The artist's drawings are clever and funny, and illustrate a simple sentence to show what happens when a comma moves or isn't used properly. The book also has short explanations at the back of the book in case you're not, as I am not, an expert at punctuation rules and grammar. I hope Truss and Timmons explain a great deal more of grammar. They made commas great fun for my granddaughter--and for me!