Skip to main content

Exclamation Mark

Exclamation Mark
Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
Scholastic Press, 2013. Unpaged picture book.

From the dynamic duo of Rosenthal and Lichtenheld comes this clever picture book about personified punctuation marks. Exclamation Mark has always stood out on the page. He can't squish down or blend in, so he decides to run away. He meets with Question Mark, who has some questions for him. Many, many, many questions. A whole page of questions. Exclamation Mark yells at him to "STOP!" Given some courage, he tests out more and more exclamations, and discovers that he has an important voice in the world. As Rosenthal writes, "It was like he broke free from a life sentence." The visual humor and punny moments make this a playful read aloud for all ages, while the simple and limited text are great for new readers. My favorite part was the use of elementary school-style ruled paper!

Comments

curlyq said…
Ha ha ha! I love this book; it makes me so happy! The puns are grand and the illustrations and use of graphic text are just fabulous. What a team Rosenthal and Lichtenheld are! Thanks for the great review.

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Review: A Game of Noctis

A Game of Noctis By Deva Fagan New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2024. Fiction. 310 pages. On the island of Dantessa, social standings and wealth are determined by your place in the Great Game. If you keep on winning, you can reap treasures, power, and security for yourself and your family; but if you lose too many games, you'll be exiled to Pawn Island and a life of servitude. That's what happens to 12-year-old Pia's grandfather. Due to poor vision, he struggles to see the games, but also can't afford new eyeglasses without winning. When his score falls to zero, he is sent away. Desperate to bring him back, Pia joins a ragtag group of misfits to form a team for the annual game of Noctis. The game requires contestants to perform dangerous challenges in front of a live audience, and no one outside the wealthy Diamond District has ever won. Each member of Pia's team, the Seafoxes, has their own reason to compete, but if they're going to win they'll h...

DISPLAY: The Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead or DĆ­a de los Muertos is a lively holiday that is observed in Mexico and some other Central and South American countries each year in November. It honors and celebrates family members past and present. Celebrate Day of the Dead with Paper Crafts By Randel McGee Enslow Elementary, 2015. informational Learn to make a skull mask, a skeleton candy basket, fancy cut-paper window banners, and more as you explore the important symbols of Day of the Dead. Day of the Dead  By Linda Lowery Carolrhoda Books, 2004. Informational This colorful informational book introduces the holiday, Day of the Dead, or DĆ­a de los Muertos, and describes how it is celebrated in Mexico and in the United States. Just in Case  By Yuyi Morales Roaring Book Press, 2008. Picture Book As Senor Calavera prepares for Grandma Beetle's birthday he finds an alphabetical assortment of unusual presents, but with the help of Zelmiro the Ghost, he finds the best gift of all. Ghosts...