Grade 1-3-Truss's picture-book version of her adult bestseller tackles the topic of commas and what can go wrong when they are misused.The title is derived from an old joke in which a panda misunderstands correct panda behavior after reading a poorly punctuated wildlife guide.Versions of two identically worded sentences are presented side by side,demonstrating the difference in meaning achieved when a comma is added or subtracted.Timmons's humorous watercolor cartoons bring the point home.In one spread,the sentence on the left(Look at that huge hot dog!)is illustrated with a gigantic sausage,while that on the right(Look at that huge,hot dog!)shows a tall,sweltering canine.The author cleverly selects examples with the potential for comical(and grammatically correct)revisions.Endnotes elaborate on comma usage in more technical terms.While a title on grammar may need hand selling,both read-aloud audiences and independent readers will discover the potent possibilities of punctuation.More specific than Robin Pulve

From Publishers Weekly From the opening lines (Sun sizzled. Hair frizzled), Spinelli (Summerhouse Time) jauntily establishes the theme for this tale of one sweltering week in the town of Lumberville, long before the advent of air conditioners. Beginning on a blistering Monday, the day-by-day chronicle reveals how residents cope. Abigail Blue and her brother Ralphie open a lemonade stand, but two days later forgot about the lemonade and just sold ice. Lottie Mims takes four cold showers one day and on the next wore her bathing suit to clean house. Caldecott Honor artist Lewin's (Click, Clack, Moo) amusing assemblage of brush, ink and watercolor images portray the resourceful ways the townsfolk try to beat the heat. On Saturday night, everyone—whether in a bed or on a rooftop or on a fire escape or in a tent or near the river—everyone... had the exact same dream. A spread depicting that dream rounds up playful portraits of the smiling citizens frolicking in the rain. A power outage may be the closest

PreSchool-Grade 1–From the first page, where humans appear to be hanging upside down and a spider takes center stage (the scene is seen from the spider's perspective, as she clings to the ceiling), it's obvious that this is no ordinary tale. Monks begins with a visual bang and an unusual premise: a spider wants to be this family's pet. However, each time the arachnid tries to entertain them, they toss her outside, screaming, "Aaaarrgghh! Spider!" Disappointed, she stalks off to live in the backyard. When the family members peek out the back door and see the trees festooned with glittering webs, they decide she'd make the perfect pet. Although the resolution is a bit simplistic, the story provides a nice showcase for the art. The acrylic cartoons ably capture the wide-eyed, fearful expressions of the parents, their two children, dog, and cat when confronted with their visitor. A variety of patterned fabrics provide visual interest throughout, but the pièce de résistance is the backyard bejeweled with webs

Wolf Christmas is a Marshall Cavendish publication.