In the past I have criticized Vanita Oelschlager for not taking her ideas far enough or only telling half the story (Out of the Blue, for example) but here she gets it just right.
I have nothing bad to say about this book. She explains the concept of participles--verbs used as adjectives to modify or describe a noun--and uses many examples of how a participle can be left "dangling"--i.e. modifying the wrong noun.
One example from the book: The verb "growl" can be used as a participle to describe a lion, as in "growling lion." If it's left "dangling" you can get a sentence like this: "Growling as they ate, the children gathered around the lions' cage." It sounds as though the children are growling instead of the lions, then there's a picture of children growling at the zoo. Very cute!
Like Lynne Truss before her (author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves), Vanita Oelschlager is making language fun for a whole new generation of sticklers.
BOOK DETAILS:
Don't Dangle Your Participle
Author: Vanita Oelschlager
Illustrator: Mike Desantis
Publisher: Vanita Books
Publication Date: May 1, 2014
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Source: NetGalley
Author's Website
Look inside the book!
ALSO RECOMMENDED:
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| Eats, Shoots and Leaves, by Lynne Truss |
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| Help Your Kids with Language Arts, by DK Books (my review) |
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| 101 Troublesome Words You'll Master in No Time, by Mignon Fogarty (my review) |
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