The Case of the Incapacitated Capitals

September 3, 2012
In an era of all-caps Internet posts and no-caps e-mails, Pulver and Reed make the case for correct capitalization. Mr. Wright’s classroom seems to have forgotten how to use capitals, and the letters are falling ill due to lack of use (“riting a letter is not the same as texting,” Mr. Wright tells the kids). Reed’s chunky acrylic paintings feature interjections from capital and lowercase letters alike, and while the underlying story line—which involves Teacher Appreciation Day and Mr. Wright’s embarrassing nickname—is a bit convoluted, Mr. Wright (with help from some instructive back matter) makes the rules of capitalization clear. Ages 4–8.

August 15, 2012
Mr. Wright's class learns the importance of capital letters in this latest from Pulver and Reed. Feeling underused and ignored, the bandaged and splinted capital letters are not doing their job--they are incapacitated. But life goes on as usual in Mr. Wright's class, the students not noticing the absence of the uppercases, even when they compose a letter. But Mr. Wright notices. "[W]riting a letter is not the same as texting." His clueless class takes a while to cotton on to the problem, though, getting wrapped up in guessing Mr. Wright's nickname. Humorous asides punctuate their teacher's lesson on capitalization rules and the format for writing a letter (both of which are summed up in the backmatter). But when the kids try to correct their mistakes, they discover the deplorable condition of the uppercase letters. Luckily, the lowercase letters sent out an SOS, and the medics arrive to save the day. A fascinating note caps things off by explaining how capital and small letters got the monikers uppercase and lowercase. Reed's acrylic-and-digital artwork sports her now-trademark style, childlike figures surrounded by doctored plastic fridge magnets. But this is not as strong as their other language-arts titles, Pulver taking too long setting up the story. Still, this is a pretty painless way to teach capitalization and letter writing. (Picture book. 4-8)

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October 1, 2012

Gr 1-3-Pulver and Reed add to their children's grammar franchise by teaching the rules of capitalization. Mr. Wright's students have stopped using uppercase letters (he alludes to texting as a possible cause), and so they have become weakened through underuse-"incapacitated." In the course of correcting a letter they have written to the principal, the students (and readers) learn all the ways that capital letters are used in properly written English. Reed's childlike gouache, acrylic, and collage illustrations are charming and feature speech bubbles of running commentary-always a hit with children, but a challenge for a read-aloud. Every capital letter in the text and speech bubbles is prominently featured in colored font. There are a couple of instances in which the author has chosen to use ellipses instead of starting a new sentence (so as to avoid an uppercase letter) and this could confuse readers. An addendum gives a history of capital letters, notes on correspondence, and a list of capitalization rules. An additional purchase for those libraries that circulate the series.-Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2012
Preschool-G *Starred Review* Mr. Wright's students write a letter to cheer up their despondent teacher, but the idea backfires when they use no capital letters. You've forgotten something important, he prods them, noting that letter writing is different from texting. After a couple of lame guesses and an off-topic discussion of Mr. Wright's childhood nickname, the now-fuming teacher informs them that certain words need to be capitalized. When the classroom's capitals are found to be incapacitated (paramedics diagnose a case of serious neglect ), the children learn their lesson, use the capitals properly, and earn a hilarious prize. Three appended pages explain why capital letters are called uppercase, show why each capital is used within a color-coded letter, and list some useful rules for capitalization. In the funniest picture book yet from Pulver and Reed's Language Arts Library series, the students are well meaning, easily distracted, and not without cunning. Childlike acrylic paintings combine with digital elements to make the artwork vivid and colorful. From the conversations between uppercase and lowercase letters to the comedy within class discussions, it's hard to read the story aloud without laughing, and the humor makes the lesson more likely to stick. A madcap grammar book for kids to enjoy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
Pulver ([cf2]Punctuation Takes a Vacation[cf1], et al.) is back with another lively, colorful story. This time the capital letters are struggling. Texting has made Mr. Wright's students lazy; the capital letters have become weakened through neglect. Droll commentary from the letters keeps the book from becoming simply a grammar tract. Childlike acrylic illustrations, with eyeballs on each letter, keep the tone light.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2012
Pulver (Punctuation Takes a Vacation, rev. 5/03; et al.) is back with another lively, colorful story of punctuation and grammar. This time it's the capital letters that are struggling. Mr. Wright's students seem to have forgotten about using them, and the capital letters have become weakened through neglect. (In their own speech-bubble words, they are out of oomph! Zapped! Goners! Incapacitated! ) The students' texting has made them lazy; even in a letter to the principal, they don't use capital letters. It takes a while for the students to see their teacher's point, but, once they do, they re-energize the uppercase letters and all is Wright (er, right) with the world and the classroom. Pulver manages to insert the rules of capitalization into the story a number of times, making this an especially useful book for teachers whose children have become lax in their writing. Droll commentary from the letters themselves (the letter M quips, Without me, May wouldn't be a month ) keeps the book from becoming simply a grammar tract. Childlike acrylic illustrations, with eyeballs on each letter (which resemble the magnetic ones kids stick onto refrigerators), keep the tone light and airy, and an informative author's note about why capital letters are also called uppercase letters will certainly be a surprise to the average elementary school student. A capital idea! robin l. smith

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)