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Poodle and the Art of the Comma: Student Book
Book 5 of the Poodle Series
Class set order code: 1309S
Mom’s Choice Gold Award-Winner!
This book introduces first, second, and third graders to the correct use of the comma—an integral part of grammar instruction—in an illustrated story format that kids will love! This is the fifth book in the Preliminary Level of the MCT language arts curriculum.
Description
Mom’s Choice Gold Award-Winner!
This is a book about tadpoles.
Just kidding. Poodle said to write that. He’s such a kidder.
No, this is actually a book about commas. They do look a lot like tadpoles, though.
Wait, this isn’t a book about grammar? Actually, it is. You see, if you want to know how to write well, you need to understand more than just words; you need to understand the punctuation that structures the meanings of those words. Punctuation is an inherent part of grammar—they are intertwined, the yin and yang of language. And Poodle, who is arguably the wisest scholar-chicken on the topic of grammar, is an outstanding teacher when it comes to explaining how the comma in particular functions and why it functions that way.
So yes, this is a book about commas, and it’s about grammar. But like all of the Poodle books, it’s about more than just language arts lessons, fundamental as they are. Poodle and Sidney, along with the three monsters Burgull, Dickinson, and Gawk, are on a mission to find their dear friend What?, whom the author left out of the opening chapter. (I keep telling you: You can’t trust authors. Seriously.) Nothing will stop the friends in their quest to locate the missing beagle, and they repeatedly take risky leaps off the pages of the book to try to find him.
But each time they do, they land in a masterwork of art. First it’s Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Then it’s a work by Brueghel, then Miró, and then Vermeer. Each painting is magnificent in its own way, and each one teaches Poodle something about himself as he continues his search for his best friend. So this book is also about friendship, loyalty, and the role that art can play in revealing to ourselves truths that make us better, more expansive, more human. Or chicken. Or snail. Or monster.
And yet even that is not all. As real as the worlds within the paintings are (and they are extraordinarily real), this is still a play, and Maybe mouse and her ever-attentive assistant Bizzie need to break in once in a while to make sure the actors are playing their parts with the pathos that this drama deserves. At times that means arguing with the author, who insists that this is not a play; it’s a play in a book. But then, in an unexpected twist, Vermeer chimes in. It’s not a book either; it’s a book in a painting. Or is it a painting in a book? A painting in a play? The fourth wall explodes as these figures debate what’s real and what is the imaginative reality of one or the other of them. Between the high academic content and the complexity of the storyline, the intellectual sophistication of this book is nothing short of astounding.
Moreover, the artistry of this book—both with the language that Michael crafts with such poetic genius and the stunning images of artist Christopher Tice (in truly remarkable fashion in this book)—transforms the lessons within it into a brilliantly unforgettable experience that is as much emotional as it is intellectual. And as always, readers can hear Michael narrate the story through the magic of QR code technology.
Throughout human history, people have created extraordinary works of art and engineering. Notre Dame Cathedral. The Mona Lisa. The Colosseum in Rome. Clair de Lune. The Golden Gate Bridge. And this book. Yes, absolutely.
Note: Both the language arts concepts and the storyline of this book build upon those in the previous Poodle books. As such, the series is best read in order.
Details
- Curriculum
- MCT Language Arts Curriculum
- Level
- Preliminary Level
- Strand
- Grammar
- Ages
- 6, 7, 8, 9
- Grades
- 1, 2, 3
- Subjects
- MCT Language Arts
- Pages
- 138
- ISBN
- 978-1-63856-130-9
- Order Code
- 1309
More info
Sample Pages
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