Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts

Book Review: A Tangle of Brungles by Shobha Viswanath, Culpeo Fox

A Tangle of Brungles is a children's book written by Shobha Viswanath and illutrated by Culpeo Fox. To summon the handsome Mr. Brungle, a coven of witches stir up the great brungle stew. A lounge of lizards, a mischief of mice and a quiver of cobras are just a few ingredients they toss in to create this terrible broth. But does Mr. Brungle appear? The book is a humorous introduction to some collective nouns.

A Tangle of Brungles is a visually impressive book. The illustrations are bright, bold, and teaming with detail. The texts flows nicely, telling the story of witches looking for love, and naming a variety of collective nouns in the process. I think it was well done although I have to admit some of the rhymes did not work for me, like broth and north. However, overall I liked the flow and the voice in the text. I thought the ending was a fun surprise as well. I have looked up more than a few collective nouns over the years, out of curiosity, and still learned a few new ones in this book. With the sneaking leaning and entertaining  text I enjoyed the read very much, but still found the artwork to be my favorite part. I would gladly study the illustrations over and over again and suspect it will be a long time before I stop noticing new things on each page.

Book Review: I Yam a Donkey by Cece Bell

I Yam a Donkey! is a picturebook by Cece Bell that will make English teachers and grammar fans smile and laugh along side young readers. Reminiscent of the classic Who's on First routine readers met a donkey that proudly proclaims “I yam a donkey!” A yam hears the announcement, and since he is very particular about sloppy pronunciation and poor grammar he begins trying to explain the mistake. An escalating series of misunderstandings leaves the yam furious and the clueless donkey bewildered by the yam’s growing (and amusing) frustration. The yam finally gets his point across, but regrettably, he’s made the situation a little bit too clear.

I Yam a Donkey! is a fun, and highly entertaining book for all ages. While it could easily be used to help explain some grammar and pronunciation it is also full of bright and energetic illustrations that will capture the eye and make everyone smile. The yam gets angrier and more erratic with his arguments as the confrontation continues. I love that a crowd of vegetables come to watch the argument, and end up meeting the same fate as the grammar obsessed yam. 

I Yam a Donkey! is highly entertaining. While the heart of the book is grammar and pronunciation awareness, it is also fun and has a twist(ed) ending to the tale. When I saw this book come across my desk I just had to stop and read it, and I know of several school teachers, librarians, and writers that need a copy of this book for their classroom or home collections.