Grammar Girl Presents the Ultimate Writing Guide for Students

June 1, 2011

As she does in previous volumes—Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (2008) and The Grammar Devotional (2009)—Fogarty affects an earnest and upbeat tone to dissuade those who think a grammar book has to be "annoying, boring, and confusing" and takes on the role of "grammar guide, intent on demystifying grammar."

Like many grammar books, this starts with parts of speech and goes on to sentence structure, punctuation, usage and style. Fogarty works hard to find amusing, even cheeky examples to illustrate the many faux pas she discusses: "Squiggly presumed that Grammar Girl would flinch when she saw the word misspelled as alot." Young readers may well look beyond the cheery tone and friendly cover, though, and find a 300+-page text that looks suspiciously schoolish and isn't really that different from the grammar texts they have known for years (and from which they have still not learned a lot of grammar). As William Strunk said in his introduction to the first edition of the little The Elements of Style, the most useful grammar guide concentrates attention "on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated." After that, "Students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of their own work." By being exhaustive, Fogarty may well have created just the kind of volume she hoped to avoid.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

June 1, 2011

Gr 6 Up-This text is evenly divided into five sections: parts of speech, sentence structure, punctuation, usage, and a final segment on how readers can improve their writing. Fogarty's style mimics her podcasts with pithy but helpful rules and advice laced with examples. Pop quizzes and cartoon illustrations are also included. Libraries should purchase this book for reference use if nothing else, but budding writers will find it invaluable.-Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2011
Grades 7-10 Most kids will send up a cheer at the title of the author's introduction: Grammar Schmammar, as in Grammarwho needs it? Well, the answer is that we all do if we're to communicate in any way other than grunting and scratching. And since we must become familiar with this tangled territory, Fogarty, the self-styled Grammar Girl, makes a reasonably genial guide who wears her obvious erudition lightly. The pages have ample white space, there are lots of headlines and sidebar features, and illustrator Haya's black-and-white drawings add some quirkiness. Alas, though, there's not much humor to be found in reflexive pronouns, and as for excitement, did you know a dash is a more sensational and informal mark than a colon? Hot dog. One parting quibble: since only one of the book's five chapters directly deals with writing, the title is a bit of a misnomer. But, then again, what is writing without grammar? This guide makes a good next step from Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter's Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook (2010).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)