The Dragon Grammar Book: Grammar for Kids, Dragons, and the Whole Kingdom

Canadian author Diane Mae Robinson freely states `My mission in life is to inspire children to believe in the magic within themselves, to become heroes, and to accomplish great things' and to that end she is proceeding with her series of richly detailed imaginative fantasies focusing on a young princess who feels the need to be a knight - thus the perhaps confusing title of Sir Princess Petra. Diane earned her journalism diploma from the Schools of Montreal and an advanced diploma from the Institute of Children's Literature in Connecticut. She also teaches art and writing in addition to her own primary interest of writing her own novels. Though young and new to the field of publishing she has already been awarded honors and medals. Her books to date - SIR PRINCESS PETRA (3 novels in the PEN PIIEYU ADVENTURE Series), THE FOREST PAINTER each belonging to young adult fantasies.Now Diane turns to teaching – and ha selected to teach grammar (that disappearing art so often abused in the media and conversations as well as writing). Or as she states, ‘This book is not meant to be a comprehensive study of grammar but a helpful resource for those who need some of the basics in understanding word usages and proper sentence structures. Not all the grammar terms, their definitions, or usages are dealt with in this book.’In her well-illustrated book she continues to se her beloved characters form previous successes to aid the reader. The organization and gradual advancement into concepts is well considered: Diane opens with grammar terminology (adjective, adverb, clause/sentence, conjunction, contraction, interjection, modifier, noun, participle, phrase, predicate, preposition. punctuation, subject/object, verb) and then the book blossoms into a teaching situation that is both informative and entertaining.While this book is visually one that young learners will enjoy, adults (and young adults) will find the information more useful that school textbooks. The figures from her previous books keep it light but make no mistake; THIS is a fine grammar lesson! Diane’s thirteen awards earned for her other books will soon be matched by all manner of awards for this very fine teaching tool. Grady Harp, January 18

The Dragon Grammar Book: Grammar for Kids, Dragons, and the Whole Kingdom by Diane Mae Robinson is a what it says it is, a textbook for grammar. This book covers all the basics about grammar describing things like Adjective, Adverb, Nouns, Contractions and so on. While discussing the complex English language and how to use it, Diane Robinson tries to bring the explanations down to a level kids can understand. To keep it interesting there is a story line from one chapter to the next involving Sir Princess Petra and the dragon Snarls dealing with magic, farts, and other mischief. Together they help kids, and adults, grasp the often challenging concepts, as well as, being able to laugh while they learn.Coming from a background of having a BA in English, and having homeschooled my children, I could see the value in this book. This is not meant to be read cover to cover like a novel, rather it is a textbook. Having kids in the middle school range I can see this would be a great resource for the fifth to seventh grade level. The explanations are short and concise followed up by humor examples that will appeal to boys and girls in this age range. As a parent and home educator I appreciate the thoroughness of the explanations and how it lays out the chapters in a logical format where they all flow from one concept to the next, keeping not only the story line cohesive, but the lessons build on each other. Additionally, I like the review that is included at the end of each chapter. This allows for the student to test their knowledge and reinforce what they learned. The quizzes are short and effective, allowing the teacher to see that they get the idea but not being so overwhelming with just busy work. There are also two levels of tests at the end of the book that make a good end of year review.Overall this book is a fun way to introduce grammar to kids, there are fun illustrations that go along with the storyline. The chapters are short and provide review material. This is a great resource for families that are home educating, but also for those with children in school. Since the sections are so short it makes for a great review source to supplement their regular school work and to use a reference guide. The humor is right on a child’s level, so they can grasp the concepts without being bord. I would recommend this book to anyone that struggles with grammar, or with helping their kids learn grammar. The only change I would make to this book is to make a supplement, or appendix with the quiz questions separate from the main chapter without the answers readily available to see. It would be nice to have the ability to print or copy each sections quiz and the skills test on their own. Overall a great resource for learners of all ages.