Pre-K
Growing Reader
7 Entertaining Picture Books That Teach Kids Grammar Rules
by Melissa Taylor
Introduce your child to grammar with these entertaining and informative picture books. The grammar lessons are explicit in some while the lessons are subtler in others. In the latter, use the books as a jumping off point to have further conversations about the English language system. Keep in mind you’re not only showing that grammar can be playful but also helping kids become better readers and writers.
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Old Hat, New Hat
This classic rhyming book is a gem for teaching kids about adjectives. What are all the different hat descriptions? From scratchy to wrinkly, read and notice all the words that describe.
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A Charm of Goldfinches and Other Wild Gatherings: Quirky Collective Nouns of the Animal Kingdom
That’s not a group of rabbits, it’s a trip of rabbits. Who knew!? You’ll know after reading this book about groups of animals who are found on land, in the air, and in the water. Illustrations and elaborations for each animal group teach kids about the animals as well as their distinctive collective labels.
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Eats, Shoots and Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!
This book is so funny! Once kids understand the meaning nuances of commas, they will love the humor as well. Because “Slow, children crossing” is different than “Slow children crossing.” Isn’t this perfect for budding writers?
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The Girl’s Like Spaghetti: Why You Can’t Manage Without Apostrophes!
If you don’t yet love the apostrophe, you will after reading this book. See how meaning changes in a sentence with or without an apostrophe mark. Look at the illustrations and discuss the differences in the two sentences. For example, how is “The dogs like my dad” different than “The dog’s like my dad”?
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Nouns and Verbs Have a Field Day
At this school, nouns and verbs are each on separate field day teams. That is until someone shows the two groups that teamwork between nouns and verbs makes sentences. This makes field day way more fun.
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Fantastic! Wow! and Unreal! A Book About Interjections and Conjunctions
This one offers clear explanations and fun illustrations to help kids get excited about the worlds of interjections and conjunctions. After mastering these two topics, you’ll want to check out the other grammar-inspired picture books in Heller’s Explore! series: Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns, Mine, All Mine! A Book About Pronouns, Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives, and Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs.
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The Great Grammar Book
Know a kid who would benefit from something more interactive? This super engaging book is just right. With pull tabs, turning wheels, and lift-the-flap details, The Great Grammar Book walks kids through everything from pronouns and prepositions to punctuation and plurals. It’s loads of fun.
