Exclamation Mark By Amy Rosenthal

Exclamation Mark

Amy Rosenthal

Tom Lichtenheld

Scholastic Press

March 1, 2013

56 Pages

     Exclamation Mark was one of my choices because I fell in love with another book by Amy Rosenthal called Chopsticks. The two are similar because they both are written with learning in mind.  Each book has its own lesson to teach. Exclamation Mark is a story that talks about how it is okay to be different, unlike anyone else. Being yourself is the most important thing of all! Not only does this book tell a story about a lonely exclamation point trying to fit in. It also makes a point to teach children what an exclamation point really is and where we use them. 

     The illustrations in this book are just like the illustrations in Chopsticks. The pictures are not at all intriguing for younger children.In fact I have a hard time understanding why such simple drawings sketched by the illustrator were used like they were. The story actually took place on elementary school lined paper, that part I really loved. That is something the children can relate to.  The lack of color also makes it rather dull looking. I have heard others say how much they enjoyed the illustrations so I believe some children may enjoy this type of monotone book. Water colors were used in the illustration process of this book as well.

     This book would be great for children from kindergarten to third grade. That is when learning about punctuation should be done. So that is one of the classroom connections. Students need to learn the purpose of each punctuation mark. After reading the story aloud to the class students could do an activity as a group. Students could fill in the blanks at the end of each sentence as the teacher reads it aloud. This not only reteaches the use of punctuation but it also allows the students to learn how to be good listeners. Students could also learn a valuable lesson when reading this story. They can all learn important life lessons about fitting in and being yourself.