The Ghouls' Guide to Good Grammar

Grammar can be confusing, no matter if you're an adult, a child, or well . . . even a ghoul. And its rules can be hard to remember or keep straight. Ghastly things can happen when a comma or even a simple period is misplaced. But never fear! We have the perfect book to help you keep your head and your cool. In The Ghouls' Guide to Good Grammar basic rules of grammar such as correct punctuation and appropriate word choices are explained from a monster's point of view. For example, see how a simple comma clears up any misunderstanding between Vanessa and her parents. "Vanessa Vampire loves cooking, her parents, and her baby sister" versus "Vanessa Vampire loves cooking her parents and baby sister." For anyone needing a refresher course on how to use a hyphen or an apostrophe, or is confused by pesky contractions, The Ghouls' Guide to Good Grammar is for you. After all, choosing the right word and the right punctuation to use is as important as picking the right human being to eat for dinner. Back matter includes a short grammar quiz.

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Interest Level Kindergarten - Grade 3
Reading Level Grade 1
Dewey 428.2
Lexile AD520L
ATOS Reading Level
Guided Reading Level Q
Language English
Publisher Sleeping Bear Press
Available Formats Hardcover (9781534110953), PDF (9781534192324), Hosted ebook (9781534192447)
Copyright 2021
Number of Pages 32
Dimensions 11 x 9
Graphics Full-color illustrations

Feathered Quill Book Reviews - The Ghouls' Guide to Good Grammar

Kimmelman and Sullivan have created a unique book in The Ghouls’ Guide to Good Grammar. With its adorable monster characters and ghoulish theme, Kimmelman’s story is sure to please any young reader, while parents and teachers alike will appreciate its informative and helpful nature.

Kirkus Reviews - The Ghouls' Guide to Good Grammar

Monsters, witches, and zombies add importance to the grammar and spelling rules in this guide. Starting with end-of-sentence punctuation, the rules are straightforward, and the example is a soft punchline: A monster asks a group of trembling human children, “What’s shaking?” to demonstrate the use of a question mark. The examples get more interesting as different versions of sentences are compared, with their meanings changed by variations in punctuation and spelling choices. A human child says, “Time to eat, Sylvester” to a cat, but a monster says, “Time to eat Sylvester.” Commas, contractions, capitalization, word pairs like than/then, and homophones that fit the theme (hair-raising versus hare-raising) all get straightforward explanations along with illustrated examples. Sections are clearly marked with yellow titles on black banners for easy skimming, and comparisons are laid out in side-by-side panels with speech and thought bubbles. The words being taught are printed in red. The colorful, cartoon illustrations are gross and humorous enough to hold children’s attention over multiple readings as the grammar and spelling rules sink in. The power of grammar and spelling to turn loved ones into meals conveys the importance of detail in proper writing; the playful touches of the ghoul theme make these rules more memorable than the standard textbook guide can. The human characters are racially diverse. A ghoul grammar quiz at the end tests readers’ memories of the rules. A scarily fun addition to the reference shelf.

The Ghouls' Guide to Good Grammar - Activity Page

Activity Pages to accompany the book The Ghouls’ Guide to Good Grammar. View →

Author: Leslie Kimmelman

Leslie Kimmelman is the author of many books for children, including the recent Everybody Bonjours; Mind Your Manners, Alice Roosevelt! (a CELI finalist, Bank Street Best Children’s Book, and NCSS/CBC book); and The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah (a Sydney Taylor Notable Book), as well as a number of titles currently in production. Leslie has been a children’s book editor for more than twenty-five years, and is currently working as a part-time editor at Sesame Workshop. She has also written for a variety of parenting magazines, children’s magazines, and Web sites, and has penned numerous books for licensed properties (Nickelodeon, Disney, Sesame Street, and so on) under the name Jodie Shepherd.

Leslie grew up outside Philadelphia, graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in history, and now lives near New York City with her family.

Illustrator: Mary Sullivan

Mary Sullivan lives in Austin, Texas. Her days are spent working on her many book ideas. You can usually find her at home with her senior dogs, hunkering down on a shady porch with some green tea. Outside of working on her books, Mary loves hiking, drawing for educational publishers, and cooking. Her books include The Ghouls’ Guide to Good Grammar, Ball (a 2014 Geisel Honor Book Award winner), Treat, Frankie, Nobody’s Duck, Up on Bob, and Duck Duck Moose. See more of her work on Instagram @sullivandraws and at marysullivan.com.

Activities for further learning
Author/Illustrator biography
Original artwork
Full-color illustrations