Punished (Darby Creek Exceptional Titles)
Grade 3-5 Logan knows he shouldn't have been playing tag in the library reference stacks and he's sorry that he crashed into Professor Wordsworth. But what did the strange old man mean when he said that Logan should be punished? Suddenly, the boy starts speaking in puns really awful puns and he can't stop. His family and friends think he's just smarting off, but Logan quickly realizes that he is under a curse. According to the professor, there is only one way to break the spell. Logan has three days to collect seven oxymorons, seven anagrams, and seven palindromes or the pun-ishment will continue forever. This lighthearted fantasy would be an excellent classroom read-aloud. The language concepts are deftly explained and the clever, wordplay-filled dialogue provides numerous examples. There is an emphasis on problem-solving and self-reliance as well. Logan uses the dictionary and experiments with Scrabble™ tiles as he races against the clock to find the required answers. The short text and lively cover art will attract young readers, who will howl at the atrocious puns and repeat them at the earliest opportunity. Be prepared for an epidemic of juvenile punsters.Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, ILCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.