Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference! (2006)

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!  by Lynne Truss (2006) illustrates how different messages delivered depending upon where a comma appears in sentences. On the first page, a librarian asks a panda why it entered the library, ate a sandwich, and shot two arrows into the room. The panda replies, “‘I’m a panda. That’s what it says we do.’” In an introduction, Lynn Truss writes, “Commas can create havoc when they are left out or are put in the wrong spot, and the results of misuse can be hilarious.” Bonnie Timmons illustrates 13 sentences Truss punctuates in different ways. The illustrations are colorful and cartoonish, probably intended to highlight hilarious consequences. “Eat here, and get gas.” Requires a different image than “Eat here and get gas.” Grammatical explanations for the uses of the comma take up two pages at the back of the book.