School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Pulver and Reed add to their children's grammar franchise by teaching the rules of capitalization. Mr. Wright's students have stopped using uppercase letters (he alludes to texting as a possible cause), and so they have become weakened through underuse-"incapacitated." In the course of correcting a letter they have written to the principal, the students (and readers) learn all the ways that capital letters are used in properly written English. Reed's childlike gouache, acrylic, and collage illustrations are charming and feature speech bubbles of running commentary-always a hit with children, but a challenge for a read-aloud. Every capital letter in the text and speech bubbles is prominently featured in colored font. There are a couple of instances in which the author has chosen to use ellipses instead of starting a new sentence (so as to avoid an uppercase letter) and this could confuse readers. An addendum gives a history of capital letters, notes on correspondence, and a list of capitalization rules. An additional purchase for those libraries that circulate the series.-Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In an era of all-caps Internet posts and no-caps e-mails, Pulver and Reed make the case for correct capitalization. Mr. Wright's classroom seems to have forgotten how to use capitals, and the letters are falling ill due to lack of use ("[W]riting a letter is not the same as texting," Mr. Wright tells the kids). Reed's chunky acrylic paintings feature interjections from capital and lowercase letters alike, and while the underlying story line-which involves Teacher Appreciation Day and Mr. Wright's embarrassing nickname-is a bit convoluted, Mr. Wright (with help from some instructive back matter) makes the rules of capitalization clear. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
