Book picks similar to
Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver


picture-books
children-s-books
writing
language-arts

Alfie the Apostrophe


Moira Rose Donohue - 2006
    Can he make it into the punctuation-mark talent show? There's plenty of competition, but it looks as if the director, Bud Asterisk, has mistaken Alfie for a comma. Will all of Alfie's practice pay off? Full color.

Flat Stanley


Jeff Brown - 1964
    A bulletin board fell on Stanley during the night, and now he is only half an inch thick! Amazing things begin happening to him. Stanley gets rolled up, mailed, and flown like a kite. He even gets to help catch two dangerous art thieves. He may be flat, but he's a hero. This is the very first Flat Stanley adventure, updated with crisp new art.Supports the Common Core State Standards

Yo! Yes?


Chris Raschka - 1993
    "Yo!" says one. "Yes?" says the other. And so begins a conversation that turns strangers into friends. With vibrant illustrations, Chris Raschka's rhythmic read-aloud is a celebration of differences -- and how it just takes a few words to overcome them. More relevant than ever in our divided world, this 1993 Caldecott Award-winning classic is presented in an accessible paperback format.

The Matchbox Diary


Paul Fleischman - 2013
    Then I’ll tell you its story." When a little girl visits her great-grandfather at his curio-filled home, she chooses an unusual object to learn about: an old cigar box. What she finds inside surprises her: a collection of matchboxes making up her great-grandfather’s diary, harboring objects she can hold in her hand, each one evoking a memory. Together they tell of his journey from Italy to a new country, before he could read and write — the olive pit his mother gave him to suck on when there wasn’t enough food; a bottle cap he saw on his way to the boat; a ticket still retaining the thrill of his first baseball game.

A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms


Paul B. Janeczko - 2005
    How manyCan you master?From sonnets to double dactyls,Odes to limericks—Raschka and Janeczko (and a frisky mule)Make learning the rules of poetrySo much fun!In this splendid and playful volume, acclaimed poetry anthologist Paul B. Janeczko and Caldecott Honor illustrator Chris Raschka present lively examples of twenty-nine poetic forms, demonstrating not only the (sometimes bendable) rules of poetry, but also the spirit that brings these forms so wonderfully to life. Featuring formal poems, some familiar and some never before published, from the likes of Eleanor Farjeon (aubade), X. J. Kennedy (elegy), Ogden Nash (couplet), Liz Rosenberg (pantoum), and William Shakespeare, the sonnet king himself, A KICK IN THE HEAD perfectly illustrates Robert Frost's maxim that poetry without rules is like a tennis match without a net.

Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great


Bob Shea - 2013
    Things were just fine around here until UNICORN showed up.So what if he can fly?Or make it rain cupcakes?And turn stuff into gold?Big deal. I can do some cool stuff too, like...Hey! What are you doing? Why are you opening the book?He's just going to tell you how great he is. Blah, blah, blah.Go ahead. Just don't say I didn't warn you.Dopey Unicorn.

All Are Welcome


Alexandra Penfold - 2018
    A school where kids in patkas, hijabs, and yamulkes play side-by-side with friends in baseball caps. A school where students grow and learn from each other's traditions and the whole community gathers to celebrate the Lunar New Year. All Are Welcome lets young children know that no matter what, they have a place, they have a space, they are welcome in their school.

The Wolf's Chicken Stew


Keiko Kasza - 1987
    He spots a chicken who seems just right, but then he thinks how much more stew there will be if he fattens her up before dining himself. So he goes home and begins to cook all kinds of scrumptious food for the chicken to eat. A big surprise is in store for the wolf when he finally visits Mrs. Chicken to collect his meal.

The Pout-Pout Fish


Deborah Diesen - 2008
    Fish swims aboutWith his fish face stuckIn a permanent pout.Can his pals cheer him up?Will his pout ever end?Is there something he can learnFrom an unexpected friend?Swim along with the pout-pout fish as he discovers that being glum and spreading "dreary wearies" isn't really his destiny. Bright ocean colors and playful rhyme come together in this fun fish story that's sure to turn even the poutiest of frowns upside down.The Pout-Pout Fish is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

I Am Too Absolutely Small for School


Lauren Child - 2003
    After all, why would she need to count higher than ten when she never eats more than ten cookies at a time? Once again, it's up to ever-patient big brother Charlie to persuade Lola that school is worthwhile — and that her invisible friend, Soren Lorensen, will be welcome, too.

Bear Snores On


Karma Wilson - 2002
    But even after the tea has been brewed and the corn has been popped, Bear just snores on! See what happens when he finally wakes up and finds his cave full of uninvited guests -- all of them having a party without him!

A Seed Is Sleepy


Dianna Hutts Aston - 2007
    Poetic in voice and elegant in design, the book introduces children to a fascinating array of seed and plant facts, making it a guide that is equally at home being read on a parent's lap as in a classroom reading circle.

The Rainbow Fish


Marcus Pfister - 1992
    Eye-catching foilstamping, glittering on every page, offers instant child-appeal, but it is the universal message at the heart of this simple story about a beautiful fish, who learns to make friends by sharing his most prized possessions, that gives the book its lasting value.

Take Away the A


Michaël Escoffier - 2012
    The idea behind the book is that within every language there are words that change and become a different word through the simple subtraction of a single letter. In other words, without the "A," the Beast is Best. Or, without the "M," a chomp becomes a chop—though it could be that this particular play on words didn't even make it into the book, there are so many! We certainly don't want to give too much away. . . . Now, take a look and find some more! Discovering all of the words in the book is a lot of fun, and then there's the wild, exciting adventure that follows, of trying to find more!Michaël Escoffier was born in France in 1970. Raised by a family of triceratops, he discovered his passion for writing and telling stories at a young age. He lives in Lyon, France, with his wife and two children.Kris Di Giacomo is a popular children's book illustrator who has lived in France for most of her life. After living in the United States for a while, she moved to France, where teaching English to young children and discovering French picture books were the triggers that led her into illustration. This is her fourth book to be published with Enchanted Lion Books.

The Most Magnificent Thing


Ashley Spires - 2013
    She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!? But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right.