What do you think?
Rate this book
Don't Dangle Your Participle
Words and pictures show children what a dangling participle is all about. Young readers are shown an incorrect sentence that has in it a dangling participle. They are then taught how to make the sentence read correctly. It is done in a cute and humorous way. The dangling participle loses its way and the children learns how to help it find its way back to the correct spot in the sentence. This is followed by some comical examples of sentences with dangling participles and their funny illustrations, followed by an illustration of the corrected sentence. Young readers will have fun recognizing this problem in sentence construction and learning how to fix it.
22 pages, Paperback
Published May 31, 2014
58 people want to read
About the author
Vanita Oelschlager
42 books41 followersVanita Oelschlager is a wife, mother,grandmother, former teacher, current caregiver and, for almost ten years, author and poet.
She was born and raised near Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of Mt. Union College in Alliance, Ohio, where she currently serves as a Trustee.
She has also supported and helped Jim as he built Oak Associates, ltd. into a successful investment management firm.
Today, as an accomplished author, Vanita shares openly the experiences that she, Jim and their families have had with multiple sclerosis. She has likened MS to living with an elephant, one that won't go away or be ignored. Together, she and Jim have found ways to live with this "elephant", and to share some of the larger lessons about life they've learned through the disease.
She was born and raised near Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of Mt. Union College in Alliance, Ohio, where she currently serves as a Trustee.
She has also supported and helped Jim as he built Oak Associates, ltd. into a successful investment management firm.
Today, as an accomplished author, Vanita shares openly the experiences that she, Jim and their families have had with multiple sclerosis. She has likened MS to living with an elephant, one that won't go away or be ignored. Together, she and Jim have found ways to live with this "elephant", and to share some of the larger lessons about life they've learned through the disease.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews
March 19, 2017
This is my second encounter with Vanita Oelschlager. The first was Ivy in Bloom: The Poetry of Spring from Great Poets and Writers from the Past.
In Don't Dangle Your Participle, Oelschlager uses lovely drawings and funny examples to help children better understand how a verb can be used as an adjective. At the same time, it shows the importance of the word's placement within the sentence.
*I thank Vanita Oelschlager, Vanita Books, and Netgalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
In Don't Dangle Your Participle, Oelschlager uses lovely drawings and funny examples to help children better understand how a verb can be used as an adjective. At the same time, it shows the importance of the word's placement within the sentence.
*I thank Vanita Oelschlager, Vanita Books, and Netgalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 6, 2017
"Don't Dangle Your Participle" by Vanita Oelschlager is clearly an awesome foray into grammar. Presented in a humorous style, a participle is defined as a verb that acts as an adjective. Its job is to modify a noun, however, the participle sometimes loses its way. Often comical in presentation, multiple examples of errant participles are pictorially displayed. My favorite lost participle was: "Melting in the hot sun, Ida rushed to finish her ice cream". What or who was melting in the sun? It certainly was not Ida! The participle finds its way back to the correct noun. "Melting in the hot sun, the ice cream has to be finished quickly by Ida". What was melting? The ice cream!
The text is enhanced by the drawings of illustrator Mike DeSantis. He shows and explains the steps involved in the creation of his whimsical artwork. "Don't Dangle Your Participle" by Vanita Oelschlager is an entertaining grammar lesson suitable for children as well as adults.
Thank you Vanita Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Don't Dangle Your Participle".
The text is enhanced by the drawings of illustrator Mike DeSantis. He shows and explains the steps involved in the creation of his whimsical artwork. "Don't Dangle Your Participle" by Vanita Oelschlager is an entertaining grammar lesson suitable for children as well as adults.
Thank you Vanita Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Don't Dangle Your Participle".
November 26, 2017
This was a clever way of illustrating dangling participles and participles used correctly. The illustrations used really accentuated the correct meaning. A fun and entertaining grammar lesson!
Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley, for the complimentary copy to review.
Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley, for the complimentary copy to review.
April 4, 2017
Thanks to Netgalley and respective publisher.
It's quite fascinating and helpful children book about learning participle in meaningful instances and
excellent way.
It would enhance a child to grasp participle in better manner.
It's quite fascinating and helpful children book about learning participle in meaningful instances and
excellent way.
It would enhance a child to grasp participle in better manner.
January 30, 2018
DON'T DANGLE YOUR PARTICIPLE by Vanita Oelschlager and illustrated by Mike DeSantis is a fun and entertaining grammar lesson for children and adults. "A participle is a verb that acts like an adjective. Let's use the verb growl. The participle is the verb ending with an 'ing' and sometimes an 'ed'. Growling is the participle."
Words and colourful illustrations show the incorrect and correct placement of a participle. My favourite example of a dangling participle was "Wrestling a giant, hairy fly, Simon was fascinated by the spider." What or who was wrestling with the giant, hairy fly? Surely it was not Simon. The participle finds its way back to the correct noun. "Wrestling a giant, hairy fly, the spider fascinated Simon." What was wrestling the fly? The spider!
Thank you Vanita Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review DON'T DANGLE YOUR PARTICIPLE by Vanita Oelschlager and illustrated by Mike DeSantis.
5 stars
Words and colourful illustrations show the incorrect and correct placement of a participle. My favourite example of a dangling participle was "Wrestling a giant, hairy fly, Simon was fascinated by the spider." What or who was wrestling with the giant, hairy fly? Surely it was not Simon. The participle finds its way back to the correct noun. "Wrestling a giant, hairy fly, the spider fascinated Simon." What was wrestling the fly? The spider!
Thank you Vanita Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review DON'T DANGLE YOUR PARTICIPLE by Vanita Oelschlager and illustrated by Mike DeSantis.
5 stars
February 7, 2017
It's tough out there for grammar nerds these days. The internet, Twitter and handheld devices have helped lower the standards of communication and the English language as I learned it. I'm not sure if Mad Libs deserve the credit or blame for my high grammatical standards, but I learned parts of speech before my classmates and I've been a word nerd ever since. I think it's great to teach kids parts of speech at a young age and in a fun way. The illustrations are great and there's nothing better than when kids accidentally learn something while doing something fun.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.
March 26, 2019
I'm not sure how much the target audience will get out of this, considering I've seen the dreaded dangling participle in published novels (obviously, it's a tricky concept, even for adults). I think the explanation pages at the beginning might be a little bit confusing for kids; things are explained clearly, but with an unfortunate side effect of sounding a bit like a textbook. Once the book gets into the silly illustrated examples, things are much better. You can clearly see how the dangling participle changes the meaning of the sentence. (I did think a couple of the examples--Susie and her balloons and Ida and her ice cream--might've been a little confusing, though, as they could've been fantasy or simply figurative language, and not necessarily dangling participles in certain contexts.)
I probably would've liked this book when I was a kid (more than I did as an adult), but then I've always been interested in how languages are put together. I'm not sure if it would have a broad appeal for the general population of young readers, though.
Quotable moment:
Thank you to NetGalley and Vanita Books for providing a digital ARC.
I probably would've liked this book when I was a kid (more than I did as an adult), but then I've always been interested in how languages are put together. I'm not sure if it would have a broad appeal for the general population of young readers, though.
Quotable moment:
Thank you to NetGalley and Vanita Books for providing a digital ARC.
January 5, 2016
This is an educational picture book for kids that makes learning about dangling participles easy and fun.
It starts out by explaining what a participle and a dangling participle is. It uses this example of lions and children to illustrate how a dangling participle is simply a participle that has lost its way by being attached to the wrong noun, thereby conveying the wrong meaning of a sentence.
The rest of the book consists of such pairs of examples, with the participle in the wrong place, resulting in a comical sentence and illustration,
followed by the sentence with the participle in the right place and the corresponding illustration, which makes more sense than the previous illustration!
This book would undoubtedly be a great aid in teaching school kids about dangling participles.
The extra star is for this description about the process of rendering the art in the book, that is provided at the end.
A special shout-out to the illustrator of this book, and all other artists as well, for the sheer amount of effort and hard work they put into making these illustrations so perfect.
It starts out by explaining what a participle and a dangling participle is. It uses this example of lions and children to illustrate how a dangling participle is simply a participle that has lost its way by being attached to the wrong noun, thereby conveying the wrong meaning of a sentence.
The rest of the book consists of such pairs of examples, with the participle in the wrong place, resulting in a comical sentence and illustration,
followed by the sentence with the participle in the right place and the corresponding illustration, which makes more sense than the previous illustration!
This book would undoubtedly be a great aid in teaching school kids about dangling participles.
The extra star is for this description about the process of rendering the art in the book, that is provided at the end.
A special shout-out to the illustrator of this book, and all other artists as well, for the sheer amount of effort and hard work they put into making these illustrations so perfect.
April 15, 2018
This was a cute enough book that explains participles and shows how not to dangle them. I work with clients who are mainly ESL, and I could see this book being a useful supplement to help explain rewriting sentences for clarity.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free electronic ARC of this book, received in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free electronic ARC of this book, received in exchange for an honest review.
July 29, 2017
So, this is a cute kids' book with some funny illustrations showing why you shouldn't dangle participles, but let's be honest...adults should probably read it too.
(Thanks to NetGalley for making this available to me!)
(Thanks to NetGalley for making this available to me!)
September 29, 2023
This book is a lesson an important one taught in simplest way possible. Ajay in a funny and cute way giving example of animals.
So what's participle? It is a verb that acts like a adjective. But Sentences are made of more than just verbs and participles. They have, nouns, pronouns, adverbs,
adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections to make the complete sentences.
When you add in all these other parts of a sentence it is easy for young children
participle, lets say growling, to get lost from the noun, lion and end up in the
wrong part of your sentence. And this book teaches those young kids how to use it properly in a sentence so it doesn't dangle.
Fun way and definitely enjoyable, it would make a great read for kids. And with these good illustrations it will definitely get big Yes from parents and teachers.
Thank you Netgalley and Vanitabooks for ARC in exchange of an honest review.
So what's participle? It is a verb that acts like a adjective. But Sentences are made of more than just verbs and participles. They have, nouns, pronouns, adverbs,
adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections to make the complete sentences.
When you add in all these other parts of a sentence it is easy for young children
participle, lets say growling, to get lost from the noun, lion and end up in the
wrong part of your sentence. And this book teaches those young kids how to use it properly in a sentence so it doesn't dangle.
Fun way and definitely enjoyable, it would make a great read for kids. And with these good illustrations it will definitely get big Yes from parents and teachers.
Thank you Netgalley and Vanitabooks for ARC in exchange of an honest review.
October 9, 2013
This is the sort of book that deserves to be in classrooms and on homeschool shelves. It makes a traditionally dull subject amusing and engaging. More than that, though, Oelschlager demonstrates an understanding of how children best learn--not just by rote, but by engaging multiple senses. A solid educational resource, Don't Dangle Your Participle earns 5 out of 5 stars for its laugh-while-you-learn approach.
**Received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. A complete review will be available on my blog closer to the book's release date.
**Received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. A complete review will be available on my blog closer to the book's release date.
January 10, 2019
I think the title itself is my favourite bit - it sounds a bit like a scolding from your mother and also a bit naughty in the way that the British would mean "a bit naughty" with a wink. A very clever title for a cute but instructive little book about grammar. And quite an innovate approach to teaching grammar.
Is there anything else quite like it? This could be worked into a whole series of picture books taking a light but useful approach to teaching grammar.
I read #DontDangleYourParticiple via #NetGalley.
Is there anything else quite like it? This could be worked into a whole series of picture books taking a light but useful approach to teaching grammar.
I read #DontDangleYourParticiple via #NetGalley.
August 9, 2017
Don't Dangle Your Participle by Vanita Oelschlager. Illustrated by Mike Desantis. Vanita Books. Children's Nonfiction. Grammar with cozy illustrations. Wonderful, instructive material explained easily with color, humorous pictures and clear sentences. Warning: this book may provoke giggles in your child! Highly recommend this and all Vanita Oelschlager books. Thanks to NetGalley and Vanita Books for providing this ebook for review.
March 9, 2020
Actual rating - 2.75.
September 28, 2023
Coming in the door, the cooking dinner smelled great! Did the dinner walk through the door?
When a participle, a verb that has taken over the role of an adjective, is poorly placed in a sentence, it can end up “dangling” and describing the wrong noun. When this happens, a sentence can end up confusing to the reader or unintentionally amusing. This is not an easy concept for students to grasp until they are given concrete examples. Don't Dangle Your Participle another great educational book by the same author of Birds of a Feather: A Book of Idioms and Silly Pictures does just that. The book begins with a two-page grammar lesson that explains the concept in plain language. It could be used word for word by a teacher. It is then followed by several examples. Each of those examples is illustrated with a humorous picture by artist Mike Desantis. The following page presents the sentence in a corrected form along with a picture of the intended meaning of that sentence. These pictures provide a solid lesson to drive home the concept. I only have one minor complaint with this book. Writers and students often find that in avoiding a dangling participle, the grammatically correct sentence seems awkward, and the sentence flows much better if completely rewritten. This happened in Oelschlager’s book, and the author would have been better served to pick out different examples that weren’t so awkward.
Picture books are usually aimed at little kids, but most parents are hardly going to sit down to a bedtime story with a grammar lesson. That said, kids will enjoy the funny pictures and with a little explanation from an adult, they can understand the before and after pages. Although the target for this book is probably middle-grade, older students could also benefit from this humorous approach. I recommend this book to teachers, school librarians and parents like me who like to stress proper grammar. This is a must have for all school libraries!
The publisher and author provided a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
When a participle, a verb that has taken over the role of an adjective, is poorly placed in a sentence, it can end up “dangling” and describing the wrong noun. When this happens, a sentence can end up confusing to the reader or unintentionally amusing. This is not an easy concept for students to grasp until they are given concrete examples. Don't Dangle Your Participle another great educational book by the same author of Birds of a Feather: A Book of Idioms and Silly Pictures does just that. The book begins with a two-page grammar lesson that explains the concept in plain language. It could be used word for word by a teacher. It is then followed by several examples. Each of those examples is illustrated with a humorous picture by artist Mike Desantis. The following page presents the sentence in a corrected form along with a picture of the intended meaning of that sentence. These pictures provide a solid lesson to drive home the concept. I only have one minor complaint with this book. Writers and students often find that in avoiding a dangling participle, the grammatically correct sentence seems awkward, and the sentence flows much better if completely rewritten. This happened in Oelschlager’s book, and the author would have been better served to pick out different examples that weren’t so awkward.
Picture books are usually aimed at little kids, but most parents are hardly going to sit down to a bedtime story with a grammar lesson. That said, kids will enjoy the funny pictures and with a little explanation from an adult, they can understand the before and after pages. Although the target for this book is probably middle-grade, older students could also benefit from this humorous approach. I recommend this book to teachers, school librarians and parents like me who like to stress proper grammar. This is a must have for all school libraries!
The publisher and author provided a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
April 24, 2020
| Reader Fox Blog |
Don’t Dangle Your Participle by Vanita Oelschlager is an exceedingly clever book that tackles the difficulties of understanding grammar and presents it to children in a ridiculously fun way. Frankly, I’ve always found specific pieces of grammar to be one of those things that’s difficult to understand and teach. While I may personally have a well-developed grasp of how to write properly, I must admit that I had only a vague concept of how to explain a participle to anyone prior to reading this book, at least off the top of my head.
I’m coming to find that I’m rather fond of Oelschlager’s rather wonderful children’s books, each like this one dedicated to truly teaching something wonderful and important to young children. I can’t say that I’ve found a great many of those in recent years. Granted, I will admit that I don’t often read a lot of these and have really only started picking them up because I have a young niece, but it’s still been wonderfully pleasant to see that the books out there being made for kids are not all just focused around whatever silly little rhyme will distract the under-fives for a period of time.
As for this book, I love the illustrations, I love the introduction, and I love the hilarious scenes that the incorrect grammar describes as well as how the author makes note to explain how to fix them as well. This is definitely one to get your children. You won't regret it.
| Instagram | Twitter | Reader Fox Blog | Bloglovin’ | Facebook |
Don’t Dangle Your Participle by Vanita Oelschlager is an exceedingly clever book that tackles the difficulties of understanding grammar and presents it to children in a ridiculously fun way. Frankly, I’ve always found specific pieces of grammar to be one of those things that’s difficult to understand and teach. While I may personally have a well-developed grasp of how to write properly, I must admit that I had only a vague concept of how to explain a participle to anyone prior to reading this book, at least off the top of my head.
I’m coming to find that I’m rather fond of Oelschlager’s rather wonderful children’s books, each like this one dedicated to truly teaching something wonderful and important to young children. I can’t say that I’ve found a great many of those in recent years. Granted, I will admit that I don’t often read a lot of these and have really only started picking them up because I have a young niece, but it’s still been wonderfully pleasant to see that the books out there being made for kids are not all just focused around whatever silly little rhyme will distract the under-fives for a period of time.
As for this book, I love the illustrations, I love the introduction, and I love the hilarious scenes that the incorrect grammar describes as well as how the author makes note to explain how to fix them as well. This is definitely one to get your children. You won't regret it.
| Instagram | Twitter | Reader Fox Blog | Bloglovin’ | Facebook |
February 11, 2017
What is it? It’s a verb that acts like an adjective. It comes before a noun – modifying it, making it come alive! In the first few pages of this book, the author describes exactly what a participle is with easy to read terms and sentences. With duplicate sentence structure on subsequent pages, this book shows the reader that by inserting the participle in the wrong spot it will convey the wrong message when reading almost the exact sentence. Using humorous illustrations, this same message is conveyed by showing the correct way and the wrong way that the participle is inserted in the sentence. Just by looking at the pictures, the reader can see the difference and by reflecting back on the sentence structure they can again see where the participle was inserted to see where the mistake was made. I love how this book was set up. It’s a great visual tool to explain this concept. The pictures were great and they were bright and I loved how the book flowed.
I cannot keep track of how many times have I read something and laughed because of this error. I laughed not because I found fault of the writer, I laughed because like Vanita I imaged these funny pictures in my head. When I explain these errors to the writer they smiled most of the time for that not what they wanted to convey, it is that they were confused. Adults and children alike will benefit from this book. Learning and laughing at the comical errors that the author has shed on these pages. This book is truly a delight- educational and funny and something we all need. Oh, by the way, watch out for the driving turtles.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.
I cannot keep track of how many times have I read something and laughed because of this error. I laughed not because I found fault of the writer, I laughed because like Vanita I imaged these funny pictures in my head. When I explain these errors to the writer they smiled most of the time for that not what they wanted to convey, it is that they were confused. Adults and children alike will benefit from this book. Learning and laughing at the comical errors that the author has shed on these pages. This book is truly a delight- educational and funny and something we all need. Oh, by the way, watch out for the driving turtles.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.
November 3, 2017
Paperback
Published May 1st 2014 by Vanita Books
ISBN 1938164032 (ISBN13: 9781938164033)
OVERVIEW:
Words and pictures show children what a dangling participle is all about. Young readers are shown an incorrect sentence that has in it a dangling participle. They are then taught how to make the sentence read correctly. It is done in a cute and humorous way. The dangling participle loses its way and the children learns how to help it find its way back to the correct spot in the sentence. This is followed by some comical examples of sentences with dangling participles and their funny illustrations, followed by an illustration of the corrected sentence. Young readers will have fun recognizing this problem in sentence construction and learning how to fix it.
MY REVIEW:
The written concept is endearing and original, well-planned and precisely written. However, in this particular case, the book is everything because of the accompanying illustrations. The writer clearly explains a subject that children may find dull and repetitive, but with the illustrations that are both fun and silly, artistically drawn and professionally executed, the principle is clear and easily understood. The combined talent of both author and artist, make this book a fun learning tool that I wouldn't hesitate in recommending to an educational professional and parent alike.
Children will adore the characters, teachers will appreciate the lesson, and parents will enjoy this easy learning tool aimed at helping their child(ren) understand what participles are all about.
Published May 1st 2014 by Vanita Books
ISBN 1938164032 (ISBN13: 9781938164033)
OVERVIEW:
Words and pictures show children what a dangling participle is all about. Young readers are shown an incorrect sentence that has in it a dangling participle. They are then taught how to make the sentence read correctly. It is done in a cute and humorous way. The dangling participle loses its way and the children learns how to help it find its way back to the correct spot in the sentence. This is followed by some comical examples of sentences with dangling participles and their funny illustrations, followed by an illustration of the corrected sentence. Young readers will have fun recognizing this problem in sentence construction and learning how to fix it.
MY REVIEW:
The written concept is endearing and original, well-planned and precisely written. However, in this particular case, the book is everything because of the accompanying illustrations. The writer clearly explains a subject that children may find dull and repetitive, but with the illustrations that are both fun and silly, artistically drawn and professionally executed, the principle is clear and easily understood. The combined talent of both author and artist, make this book a fun learning tool that I wouldn't hesitate in recommending to an educational professional and parent alike.
Children will adore the characters, teachers will appreciate the lesson, and parents will enjoy this easy learning tool aimed at helping their child(ren) understand what participles are all about.
January 3, 2016
This book uses a combination of similar pairs of sentences and coordinating illustrations to demonstrate how dangling participles result in sentences that don't come across with the intended meaning. I found the illustrated sentences amusing and can see myself using these examples in a writing lesson. The concept would be a great way to engage students in creating their own examples of appropriate and inappropriate use of participles. However, several of the sentences that included appropriate use of participles were written in the passive voice. Another goal of improving student writing is limiting these types of sentences, so I would have liked to have seen more appropriate example sentences using active voice. Also, although the book started off with an explanation of participles, it never seemed to clearly explain the "dangling" terminology. Instead, it explains how participles can "get lost" so that they modify the incorrect subject. I think this is a great analogy, but I wanted to see a direct connection between the two terms in the explanation.
* I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley for review.
* I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley for review.
July 24, 2014
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
This was a fun book to introduce dangling participles to my 10 year old. Beautifully illustrated with hilarious situations demonstrating just how wrong danging participles can be, my daughter both laughed but also thought about the concept of the importance of word order in English.
The book gives a friendly introduction to the concept before giving those fun examples afterwards. Each of the examples is full page and we're treated to scenes of kids wrestling flies, turtles driving cars, and a deer skateboarding in the park - all because the participle was in the wrong place in the sentence.
I honestly wish I had books/examples like this when I was growing up and heartily recommend this as a homeschool or teaching aide. Learning can be fun!
Received as an ARC from the publisher.
September 3, 2016
Don't Dangle Your Participle is a much more entertaining way to teach kids about dangling participles than textbooks or worksheets. Each incorrect sentence is illustrated in such a humorous way that kids will immediately notice what's wrong in the sentence, and then the correct version of the sentence is also illustrated.
My one complaint is that Oelschlager seemed to be trying too hard to fit both the incorrect and the correct sentences to certain formats, which resulted in only one type of dangling participle sentence being illustrated. The attempt to keep all the sentences consistent also meant that some of the "correct" sentences sounded more awkward than necessary -- for most of the incorrect sentences, there are multiple ways they could be corrected, and the ones shown in the book are not always the most natural-sounding.
Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.
My one complaint is that Oelschlager seemed to be trying too hard to fit both the incorrect and the correct sentences to certain formats, which resulted in only one type of dangling participle sentence being illustrated. The attempt to keep all the sentences consistent also meant that some of the "correct" sentences sounded more awkward than necessary -- for most of the incorrect sentences, there are multiple ways they could be corrected, and the ones shown in the book are not always the most natural-sounding.
Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.
November 12, 2017
I am a sucker for grammar picture books. (I'm thinking about the kids' version of Eats, Shoots, and Leaves that came out several years ago.) Indoctrinating my little future editors is so satisfying!
This particular book, as you might surmise from the title, explains dangling participles. It's done by contrast, with funny illustrations, so kids will like it whether they know what a dangling participle is or not. And who knows? After a few readings of this, I think they'll be more aware of misplaced modifiers in their own writing.
This particular book, as you might surmise from the title, explains dangling participles. It's done by contrast, with funny illustrations, so kids will like it whether they know what a dangling participle is or not. And who knows? After a few readings of this, I think they'll be more aware of misplaced modifiers in their own writing.
March 17, 2018
Adults, who have long left the classroom, remember learning about "dangling participles" but how many can say they remember what it means or can explain the concept to children just learning about proper grammar? This book is fun and may make the adults feel smarter at the end also, when they remember what this phrase means.
The illustrations are bold and fun, making learning and remembering the proper phrasing easy. I enjoyed the expressions on the faces.
The bonus information on how the illustrations originated is also interesting.
The illustrations are bold and fun, making learning and remembering the proper phrasing easy. I enjoyed the expressions on the faces.
The bonus information on how the illustrations originated is also interesting.
January 13, 2018
What an absolutely fun way to introduce an English grammar faux pas! The author begins with explaining very simple what a dangling participle is, and then illustrates it through examples. Through lots of very funny examples. My children always respond when books are silly and this book delivers on just the right amount of ridiculousness to illustrate exactly what dangling participles are. The illustrations themselves are bright, colorful, and well done.
September 8, 2021
Don't Dangle Your Participle is a fun and humorously illustrated explanation of the use of the present participle and the importance of ensuring that they modify the correct noun in a sentence.
The book is aimed at younger readers, and I must say that it is gratifying to see that grammar is being taught in primary (elementary) schools again, after enduring several decades of unpopularity.
I found Vanita Oelschlager's explanatory text and clear and well-explored using the several examples given. Mike DeSantis's illustrations were appropriately humorous, illustrating the hilarious situations that can result if participles are left to dangle. I believe this is a book that youngsters would find both amusing and educational when learning parts of speech.
I also particularly liked the appendix, in which DeSantis details the process he goes through in creating his watercolour illustrations.
I would recommend Don't Dangle Your Participle as a valuable teaching resource for primary (elementary) school teachers.
My thanks to the author Vanita Oelschlager, illustrator Mike DeSantis, publisher Vanita Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
Eg. "While riding his skateboard in the park, a deer almost ran into Lester."
vs.
"While riding his skateboard in the park, Lester was almost hit by a deer."
The book is aimed at younger readers, and I must say that it is gratifying to see that grammar is being taught in primary (elementary) schools again, after enduring several decades of unpopularity.
I found Vanita Oelschlager's explanatory text and clear and well-explored using the several examples given. Mike DeSantis's illustrations were appropriately humorous, illustrating the hilarious situations that can result if participles are left to dangle. I believe this is a book that youngsters would find both amusing and educational when learning parts of speech.
I also particularly liked the appendix, in which DeSantis details the process he goes through in creating his watercolour illustrations.
I would recommend Don't Dangle Your Participle as a valuable teaching resource for primary (elementary) school teachers.
My thanks to the author Vanita Oelschlager, illustrator Mike DeSantis, publisher Vanita Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
April 3, 2019
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5
The only thing wrong about this book is that it wasn't around when my children were growing up.
With truly delightful artwork by Mike DeSantis, author Vanita Oelschlager offers up some silly examples of dangling participles: a deer on a skateboard; a girl blowing away in the wind; a girl melting while eating ice cream, and so on. It's sure to make youngsters smile and giggle while teaching them a valuable lesson about the English language.
It's the sort of book that, had I had this when my children were growing up, we would have read it, laughed, and then spent time making up our own dangling participles to try to get each other to laugh some more.
What prevents me from giving this a full five stars is that some of the correct sentences (after reading the sentence with the dangling participle, we get a correct sentence) are very clumsy. For instance... the dangling participle sentence reads:
"Melting in the hot sun, Ida rushed to finish her ice cream."
And of course there's a picture of a girl melting into the sidewalk.
But the correct version reads:
"Melting in the hot sun, the ice cream had to be finished quickly by Ida."
Isn't it a less clumsy sentence to say:
"The ice cream had to be finished quickly by Ida before it melted in the hot sun" or "The ice cream had to be finished quickly by Ida because it was melting in the hot sun"?
All in all, a good book for children.
Looking for a good book? Don't Dangle Your Participle by Vanita Oelschlager is just what a good picture book ought to be ... fun to read and educational.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
The only thing wrong about this book is that it wasn't around when my children were growing up.
With truly delightful artwork by Mike DeSantis, author Vanita Oelschlager offers up some silly examples of dangling participles: a deer on a skateboard; a girl blowing away in the wind; a girl melting while eating ice cream, and so on. It's sure to make youngsters smile and giggle while teaching them a valuable lesson about the English language.
It's the sort of book that, had I had this when my children were growing up, we would have read it, laughed, and then spent time making up our own dangling participles to try to get each other to laugh some more.
What prevents me from giving this a full five stars is that some of the correct sentences (after reading the sentence with the dangling participle, we get a correct sentence) are very clumsy. For instance... the dangling participle sentence reads:
"Melting in the hot sun, Ida rushed to finish her ice cream."
And of course there's a picture of a girl melting into the sidewalk.
But the correct version reads:
"Melting in the hot sun, the ice cream had to be finished quickly by Ida."
Isn't it a less clumsy sentence to say:
"The ice cream had to be finished quickly by Ida before it melted in the hot sun" or "The ice cream had to be finished quickly by Ida because it was melting in the hot sun"?
All in all, a good book for children.
Looking for a good book? Don't Dangle Your Participle by Vanita Oelschlager is just what a good picture book ought to be ... fun to read and educational.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
July 6, 2015
I've very nearly cleared out my *Netgalley list. I was hesitant to read this one because I wasn't sure
how my son would do since he is not ready for learning parts of speech etc.
This book explains what a participle is and how to properly use it. By using examples of the right and wrong way to phrase things.
This reminded me of Eats Shoots and Leaves. In fact we have the children's version of it lying around here some where. This wasn't bad at all but I didn't bother to explain to my son what a participle is. I just read it and pointed out the silly things. I explained that the book was showing people how writing things the wrong way changes the meaning of the sentence. Needless to say this was waaaay over my son's head.
The drawings were cute and did a great job of depicting the sentence. My son did ok and cracked up at the silly things but he really didn't understand what the point of the book was. This book is not for younger kids or those with learning disabilities like my son. They may still enjoy the book but they wont understand it like an older or more advanced child would.
I have a hard time rating this because there is absolutely nothing wrong with the book it just wasn't a fit for my family. Because my son did laugh and get some amusement out of it I'm going to go with 4 out of 5 stars.
*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well
how my son would do since he is not ready for learning parts of speech etc.
This book explains what a participle is and how to properly use it. By using examples of the right and wrong way to phrase things.
This reminded me of Eats Shoots and Leaves. In fact we have the children's version of it lying around here some where. This wasn't bad at all but I didn't bother to explain to my son what a participle is. I just read it and pointed out the silly things. I explained that the book was showing people how writing things the wrong way changes the meaning of the sentence. Needless to say this was waaaay over my son's head.
The drawings were cute and did a great job of depicting the sentence. My son did ok and cracked up at the silly things but he really didn't understand what the point of the book was. This book is not for younger kids or those with learning disabilities like my son. They may still enjoy the book but they wont understand it like an older or more advanced child would.
I have a hard time rating this because there is absolutely nothing wrong with the book it just wasn't a fit for my family. Because my son did laugh and get some amusement out of it I'm going to go with 4 out of 5 stars.
*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well
April 20, 2017
5★
Another colourful, helpful addition to the VanitaBooks contribution to children’s learning.
Vanita Oelschlager has produced picture books about history, music, all kinds of things, and this is a cute, funny one about how a misplaced part of speech can change the meaning of a sentence in hilarious ways.
The introduction mentions verbs, nouns, etc. and then concentrates on participles and how to recognise one when you stumble across it. . . and believe me, we all do it!
Then there are plenty of amusing examples with full-page illustrations so nobody will miss the point.
“While riding his skateboard in the park, a deer almost ran into Lester.”
A LARGE buck on a skateboard is whizzing past Lester, who is walking. The correct version shows Lester on the board and a deer jumping just over his head.
“While riding his skateboard in the park, Lester was almost hit by a deer.”
I can imagine teachers and classes having a lot of fun thinking up and correcting their own examples. As someone who helps proofread papers and such, I can attest to the fact that an awful lot of supposedly educated adults need this help!
Lots of fun and thanks to NetGalley and VanitaBooks for my advance copy for review.
Another colourful, helpful addition to the VanitaBooks contribution to children’s learning.
Vanita Oelschlager has produced picture books about history, music, all kinds of things, and this is a cute, funny one about how a misplaced part of speech can change the meaning of a sentence in hilarious ways.
The introduction mentions verbs, nouns, etc. and then concentrates on participles and how to recognise one when you stumble across it. . . and believe me, we all do it!
Then there are plenty of amusing examples with full-page illustrations so nobody will miss the point.
“While riding his skateboard in the park, a deer almost ran into Lester.”
A LARGE buck on a skateboard is whizzing past Lester, who is walking. The correct version shows Lester on the board and a deer jumping just over his head.
“While riding his skateboard in the park, Lester was almost hit by a deer.”
I can imagine teachers and classes having a lot of fun thinking up and correcting their own examples. As someone who helps proofread papers and such, I can attest to the fact that an awful lot of supposedly educated adults need this help!
Lots of fun and thanks to NetGalley and VanitaBooks for my advance copy for review.
May 10, 2014
Title: Don't Dangle Your Participle
Author: Vanita Oelschlager
Illustrator: Mike Dasantis
Publisher: Vanita Books
Published: 5-1-2014
ISBN: 978-1-93816-402-6
Pages: 22
Genre: Children's
Tags: Educational
Sensual Level: N/A
Overall Rating: Very Good
Reviewed For: NetGalley
Reviewer: DelAnne
Teaching grammar and punctuation to young minds is hard at any time, but teaching it to young minds is next to impossible. Vanita Oelschlager has met the challenge with the help of illustrator Mike Desantis to teach with simple examples and eye-catching art. It makes learning fun and helps young minds get a head start on learning the principles of Participles.
I Read this story with my young nieces and nephews and they found it captivating. I am not sure they understood everything they heard and read, but at least they want to hear the story again and with time the examples will stick and they will have a leg up on perfecting their grammar. Ages 4, 5, 6 & 7 are still more interested in short books with pictures, but I am just glad that they do not realize how educational it truly is so that they keep reading it. I hope there will be other books such as this one in the offering as well.
Author: Vanita Oelschlager
Illustrator: Mike Dasantis
Publisher: Vanita Books
Published: 5-1-2014
ISBN: 978-1-93816-402-6
Pages: 22
Genre: Children's
Tags: Educational
Sensual Level: N/A
Overall Rating: Very Good
Reviewed For: NetGalley
Reviewer: DelAnne
Teaching grammar and punctuation to young minds is hard at any time, but teaching it to young minds is next to impossible. Vanita Oelschlager has met the challenge with the help of illustrator Mike Desantis to teach with simple examples and eye-catching art. It makes learning fun and helps young minds get a head start on learning the principles of Participles.
I Read this story with my young nieces and nephews and they found it captivating. I am not sure they understood everything they heard and read, but at least they want to hear the story again and with time the examples will stick and they will have a leg up on perfecting their grammar. Ages 4, 5, 6 & 7 are still more interested in short books with pictures, but I am just glad that they do not realize how educational it truly is so that they keep reading it. I hope there will be other books such as this one in the offering as well.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews