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Greedy Apostrophe: A Cautionary Tale
It's the moment all the punctuation marks have been eagerly awaiting: assignment time, There are plenty of open positions for apostrophes as contractions soon there's only one job left--for a possessive--and only one apostrophe to fill it: non other than Greedy Apostrophe. It's not long before his greed gets out of hand, and he jumps into signs where he doesn't belong. What will it take to put Greedy Apostrophe back in his place? This clever and zany language arts picture book will have kids eager to learn the tricks of using an apostrophe.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
March 5, 2008
I picked up this children's book in the library today and almost shouted "Halleluia!" before I read the "Quiet Please" sign. In this book, various types of punctuation are assigned jobs from the hiring hall, from commas to exclamation points to quotation marks. But when it's Greedy Apostrophe's turn, everyone holds his breath. The Director cautions Greedy that he is ONLY to make possessives, NOT plurals. But in a flash, Greedy Apostrophe is causing confusion by turning simple plural signs like "kites," "yo-yos" and "rulers" into the head-scratching "kite's," "yo-yo's," and "ruler's." We are left with a warning to be watchful and take Greedy Apostrophe away from any plurals that are not rightfully his.
OK...the reason I LOVE this book is because it addresses my all-time #1 grammar pet peeve: using the apostrophe+s to make a plural. (Oh, and it's cute to boot!) This pet peeve drives me absolutely bat-shit crazy. :P There's no other way of putting it nicely. I see it online all the time, but also in menus, store signs, even newspaper articles. I don't think I ever noticed this trend much 10 years ago, but now it's all over the place. And that, my friends, may be the biggest indicator that we are approaching Armageddon. He he. ;-) So, thank you to Jan Carr, former Head Start teacher, for writing this book. I may have to splurge and actually buy this one. :)
OK...the reason I LOVE this book is because it addresses my all-time #1 grammar pet peeve: using the apostrophe+s to make a plural. (Oh, and it's cute to boot!) This pet peeve drives me absolutely bat-shit crazy. :P There's no other way of putting it nicely. I see it online all the time, but also in menus, store signs, even newspaper articles. I don't think I ever noticed this trend much 10 years ago, but now it's all over the place. And that, my friends, may be the biggest indicator that we are approaching Armageddon. He he. ;-) So, thank you to Jan Carr, former Head Start teacher, for writing this book. I may have to splurge and actually buy this one. :)
February 19, 2017
I am a grammar nerd, so I was very excited when I saw this book on our most recent trip to the library. My almost-4-year old and I read it tonight, and I think he got at least a little of the punctuation-themed message.
I, personally, thought it was awesome and would buy it. And if I were still teaching English, I would read it to my class . . . regardless of age. Misused apostrophes drive me crazy, and this book puts things in very simple terms. Plus it has a fun little story to make things interesting.
I, personally, thought it was awesome and would buy it. And if I were still teaching English, I would read it to my class . . . regardless of age. Misused apostrophes drive me crazy, and this book puts things in very simple terms. Plus it has a fun little story to make things interesting.
November 29, 2018
This book is really good for helping with the rules of apostrophes. It incorporates the rules for possession and omission whilst reinforcing that they aren't used for plurals. It does all this whilst still being an entertaining story that children can interact with!
November 23, 2018
This is a brilliant book for supporting children with the application of apostrophes. I used it at university in a micro-teaching grammar session for apostrophes and it was really successful in explaining the difference between possession and omission in a fun and engaging way. It provides a context for grammar and is easy to follow. I would use it in the future with my class.
September 10, 2008
If you have a student who is struggling to understand where apostrophes belong--and where they don't--this book might help. The Greedy Apostrophe runs around placing himself before the "s" in plurals, inappropriately turning them into singular possessives. Kids who quickly read through it without really giving it any thought probably won't come away with more understanding; if an adult reads it with a student, however, and takes a little time to explain the difference the appearance of the Greedy Apostrophe makes in the pictured signs, I think the light will come on for some kids.
January 12, 2012
I think this is a great book to introduce punctuation! Though the book is mainly about how the apostrophe is used in sentences, it also introduces how other punctuation marks complete a sentence.
I do think that the apostrophe is one of the harder punctuation marks to understand and this book illustrates the correct way and wrong way to use it. It also tells us WHY we use it - often times to show possession.
I think that this is appropriate for first grade and higher, as this book's depth of information is too advanced for kindergarten.
I do think that the apostrophe is one of the harder punctuation marks to understand and this book illustrates the correct way and wrong way to use it. It also tells us WHY we use it - often times to show possession.
I think that this is appropriate for first grade and higher, as this book's depth of information is too advanced for kindergarten.
May 8, 2016
Greedy Apostrophe a Cautionary Tale is a book with amazing information. This book talks about Greedy the Apostrophe who begins his new job as a possessive apostrophe; however, he did not follow the rules of his job. Therefore, he ended up causing too much problems to adults and children when they are writing. This book really can help children to understand the grammar rules in a fun way. I highly recommend this book for teachers from fourth grade and up. I gave this story four starts because it is a little be confuse at the beginning.
March 6, 2012
This was funny and very instructive. For my older boys it was good review/reinforcement. For my littles it was a silly story and a great way to introduce punctuation marks. Because so many are listed you can use it to introduce each one, then work on each for a few days. This really shines though in teaching the proper use of the apostrophe. You will want to do some worksheets/activities/lessons to help cement it, but it's a fun alternative to boring textbooks!
December 14, 2010
I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. But this is a fun look at things such as punctuation and what happens when an apostrophe gets out of control. I found myself chuckling throughout the book. And it does a nice job explaining the use of apostrophes.
August 15, 2017
The punctuation mark characters are all rather fun, and the message of the book is clear. Don't use apostrophes for words that are plural unless they are possessives. It surprised me that they would make a whole book about this concept and harp on misused apostrophes because it wasn't something I'd every seen as particularly troublesome (though from the comments some people would certainly disagree). It would be good if the book did outline the places where the apostrophe was needed as well, instead of just focusing on places where it shouldn't.
October 22, 2017
This is a book about punctuation, and it has potential. However, I think it's a little complicated. It could be simplified and would make more sense, especially to the target audience. It was fun though.
July 24, 2021
This is a very cute story. I can see where if you read it to kids regularly they will know how to use an apostrophe when they get to school. Adults can learn a lot from this book as well. I like that they give the grammar rules in the back.
May 4, 2017
Greedy Apostrophe is still running free!
September 29, 2017
Greedy Apostrophe is a fun and clever story for teaching punctuation and the ill effects of greed.
February 3, 2020
Cute story to teach the difference between plurals and possessives.
February 10, 2020
A cute story about errant apostrophes and the havoc they create.
April 24, 2021
This is intended as a children's book, but it'll delight grammar lovers of all ages.
April 6, 2009
Title: Greedy Apostrophe: A Cautionary Tale
Author: Jan Carl
Genre: Children’s
Challenges: PB & J Challenge, 101 Books in 1001 Days Challenge, A to Z Reading Challenge, 2009 Support Your Local Library, 20 Books in 2009, Pages Read Challenge, Young Reader's Challenge 2009, Read a Book a Month Challenge,
Rating: 4/5
No. of Pages: 32
Published: 2009
From the back:
It's the moment all the punctuation marks have been eagerly awaiting: assignment time. There are plenty of open positions for apostrophes as contractions. Soon there's only one job left-for a possessive-and only one apostrophe to fill it: none other than Greedy Apostrophe. It's not long before his greed gets out of hand, and he jumps into signs where he doesn't belong. What will it take to put Greedy Apostrophe back in his place? This clever and zany language arts picture book will have kids eager to learn the tricks of using an apostrophel
Mine:
What an adorable book – I read it while babysitting my nephews. That apostrophe is really greedy and wants to get in on all the punctuation. Great illustrations also – very colorful. We had a great time reading it.
Author: Jan Carl
Genre: Children’s
Challenges: PB & J Challenge, 101 Books in 1001 Days Challenge, A to Z Reading Challenge, 2009 Support Your Local Library, 20 Books in 2009, Pages Read Challenge, Young Reader's Challenge 2009, Read a Book a Month Challenge,
Rating: 4/5
No. of Pages: 32
Published: 2009
From the back:
It's the moment all the punctuation marks have been eagerly awaiting: assignment time. There are plenty of open positions for apostrophes as contractions. Soon there's only one job left-for a possessive-and only one apostrophe to fill it: none other than Greedy Apostrophe. It's not long before his greed gets out of hand, and he jumps into signs where he doesn't belong. What will it take to put Greedy Apostrophe back in his place? This clever and zany language arts picture book will have kids eager to learn the tricks of using an apostrophel
Mine:
What an adorable book – I read it while babysitting my nephews. That apostrophe is really greedy and wants to get in on all the punctuation. Great illustrations also – very colorful. We had a great time reading it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2012
At first this book appeared to be a fun way to address the overuse of apostrophes that is rampant today. A greedy apostrophe tries to insert himself into all plurals of words instead of only marking possessives, and confuses people in the process. Unfortunately, the book itself can confuse a child learning the rules of punctuation. In the picture on one page illustrating the overuse of apostrophes, it shows signs reading "Mels' Bank," "Pacos' Taco's," Sprits' Soda," Speedys' Movers," and "Eat at Joes'." Many of these do require an apostrophe; the problem is with its location. I would not recommend this book to teach punctuation because the story doesn't explain the rules in a way that would be clear to a person of any age unless they read and analyzed it carefully.
December 5, 2010
A great resource for teaching the various ways that apostrophes are used in English grammar. With comedy, the author portrays the greedy apostrophe trying to confuse readers in punctuating plurals. In words that second graders can understand, students learn grammatical rules for both singular and plural possessive nouns. I extended this lesson by re-naming him "Mr. Hook" in an activity where students had to help "Mr. Hook" find his place among possessive nouns.
May 20, 2017
Read this with Kiddo tonight. He had chosen it from the Library because of the "Cautionary Tale" in the title. Since Knuffle Bunny, also "a Cautionary Tale," was so awesome, I think he assumed this would be too. And I must say, it was pretty fun. I actually think it should be required reading for all English-speakers. Then maybe there would be a vast reduction in the number of apostrophe usage errors! :)
November 30, 2016
For all those who can't stand "grocers' apostrophes"-- the wild insertion of apostrophes as pluralization, abbreviation, and general cruelty to the common punctuation mark-- this is a fun book to share with kids. Punctuation marks of all kinds are graduating and being given jobs, but the greedy apostrophe runs out and starts randomly inserting himself everywhere he doesn't belong. The results are hilarious, and my 2nd grader grinned over them and re-read the book with glee.
Definitely a keeper.
Definitely a keeper.
December 15, 2013
I think this is a great book to share with students to help them understand apostrophes. Students tend to have a difficult time using it properly and puts an apostrophe on words to make them both possessive and plural, just like the greedy apostrophe. This will be a great share with the students on a very common error we all tend to make.
February 14, 2017
While I think the idea is cute I cannot see myself using this book in my classroom. The Apostrophe was weird and I think this would actually confuse students instead of helping them. I like the idea of personifying punctuation in my classroom. "What is Connie Question asking here?" or "Make room for Quentin comma" or something like that.
November 25, 2008
I really liked this book, for all of its silliness. It got the point across in a really interesting way. I don't know how much my kids got out of it, but I think older (8-12ish) kids might really learn something!
April 28, 2009
This story is about a greedy apostrophe and how is it possessive of everything. I think this book is a great creative way to teach how and not to use punctuation. There are some parts of the book that might be hard to explain to some students but the over all meaning is learned.
February 20, 2011
This book is great for grammar and phonics. Its a story about an upset apostrophe and he goes and puts apostrophes everywhere, but some things just dont need an apostrophe, now the town is confused on how to read things. This teaches children how and when to use apostrophes when wriitng.
August 25, 2016
BEST punctuation book ever! One of mine who is too young to get the concepts still was dazzled with the story. I hesitated checking this book out from the library. Glad I let my 5-year-old's persistence win. Otherwise, I would have really missed out on this great little gem.
October 19, 2011
This fictional story is about an apostrophe who got into trouble. He did not fully understand the difference between possessives and plurals. There are a lot of examples and nonexamples of proper apostrophe use.
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April 23, 2012I liked this book I think that the illustrations are a lot of fun and would be appealing to a lot of children. I thought that the illustrations were also helpful in the fact that it kept the lesson fun which keeps the reader interested yet still learning. I would recommend this to all parents!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews