Marvelous storytelling! A book falls off the shelf in the library during a storm and the punctuations fall out. Then they start to complain about those who use and misuse them and decide to take a vacation on the Island of Fun. But that isn't where they wind up! Great fun learning!
The illustrations by Sara Not are simple, imaginative and FUN in exploring what punctuation does using brilliant colors. Well suited for reading alone or WITH someone of any age, including ESL, and great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school, waiting room, or your local public library!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital Galley on Thorium PDF from Cheryl Olsten | Fleecydale Press via NetGalley. *****review @saranot.illustration @ibpalovesindies
#PunctuationToTheRescue by @cherylolsten @greenleafbookgr @childrensbookcouncil @goodreads #picturebookart #kidlit #picturebook #illustration #childrensbooks #imagination #languagearts #bookbub #learning #learningisfun #learningthroughplay #childrensbooks #storytelling

When a book falls from a shelf, some of the punctuation inside decide to go on holiday to ease their hurt feelings. Question mark, period and comma set off on a mad adventure that leads them to an island of chaos.

The illustrations were cute and the text playful, but the intended age of audience was unclear to me. The text was word heavy and dense and didn't match the pictures that seemed appropriate for very young readers. I wish that the ideas of each punctuation mark would be fleshed out more clearly and that the story ended in a different way. Interesting concept. I'm sure some teachers might love it for a quick read aloud, but it didn't reach its full potential.

Thank you to Fleecydale Press, Cheryl Olsten and Netgalley for a digital ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Punctuation marks go on an adventure. And help to save the day! Kids will love hearing about the punctuation marks that are no longer in use as well.

This was a cute, fun read. I think it would be good for kids around their early elementary years.
It is a really fun way to learn about punctuation. I also really liked the illustrations!

What a fun and cute way to teach kids about punctuation! It was informative without being overly detailed. I also love how each punctuation spoke the way they work, such a cute touch.

I don’t know that you can find a more exciting method of reviewing punctuation! In this lighthearted and silly adventure, characters such as comma, exclamation point, and question mark are traveling to different islands across a spread of brightly colored pages. Each with their own unique skillset to use, these are applied on an unexpected pitstop to save the day from loose words in mayhem. This really is an engaging adventure that will have young kids ready to apply what they’ve earned in no time. Fun fonts and creative texts will keep young eyes glued page after page, ready to see what happens next.

Hilariously silly and grammatically exciting! When punctuation feels underappreciated and overworked they take a vacation. It’s a harrowing adventure with exclamation, comma, period and question. Personally I loved the surprise guest appearance by Pilcrow! Plus the introduction of a potential future new punctuation?!

As I read this book I immediately wanted to share it with several family members aside from my children! This is a book that will be loved by many ages, especially those who have a particular fondness for grammar!

Please, don’t forgot proper punctuation and go get this book for your home library!

Thank you @NetGalley for an advanced e-copy of this book! What a fun read!

I am a complete nerd so I found this children’s book about function marks going on an adventure to be very charming and funny.

Punctuation to the Rescue introduces young readers (ages 3–6) to the basics of punctuation through a story that’s simple and accessible. While the concept is helpful, I found myself wishing for clearer, more effective examples of how punctuation actually works in sentences. The illustrations weren’t to my taste either and didn’t do much to elevate the learning experience.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cheryl Olsten | Fleecydale Press for this free, advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Punctuation to the Rescue will be published October 30, 2025.

This is a fun read, perfect for children. A fun way to show children the importance of punctuations.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Cheryl Olsten, and the publisher for allowing me to preview this title in exchange for an honest review.

I read this with my 6yr old. The illustrations were very bright and fun. I liked how the punctuations spoke in their function (the exclamation point was excited, the question mark on spoke in questions, and so on). However, that is really where the praise ends. It was a fairly boring story that didn't make much sense. The island that the punctuation had to save didn't flow and, truthfully, I didn't understand. So it was 100% lost on a smart 6 yr old. I feel that the author did not fully understand their audience. It was cute with punctuation speaking but the story was confusing.

This adorably illustrated picture book will have youngsters laughing and learning! The functions of the period, comma, exclamation point, and question mark are explained and demonstrated in many example sentences. Then, the pilcrow (the identifier for a new paragraph) and love point (an invented punctuation mark) are introduced when the four friends try to bring sense to chaos (what happens in a land of no punctuation). A great tool for teachers and parents!

I am just honestly so baffled by how much wasted potential this book has. It’s so abundant that I truly don’t even know what to begin with. It’s it the various plot points that are introduced and yet somehow go nowhere—what happened with this book that fell from the shelf? Why did we never come back to it? Was the sole purpose of this book simply to spit out disgruntled punctuation? Or is it the strange personification of the punctuation that drives the events of the story? Why are they fed up with their existences? Is that truly necessary to teach how punctuation works? What is achieved by the punctuation going on vacation?

Ugh, I just can’t help feeling like the goal of the book was great and the story in which the author chose to get to that goal was just an absolutely absurd mess.

I hated everything to do with the characters, the plot, and the settings of the islands of fun and chaos. I could not care less about the journey to get to the islands, the way words caused conflict, or the resolution that came about. It was all just so painful and ridiculous to the point that the only reason I have this book two stars instead of one is because the artwork was actually pretty phenomenal.

But the story was terrible, the manner in which it teaches punctuation just BARELY works, the writing is too advanced for a children’s book—once again, not for emerging readers—and the end of the story leaves the beginning fully unresolved. I don’t think kids are going to come away from this book understanding much at all about punctuation. They may have a vague idea of things, but I doubt this book would allow them to learn how to apply punctuation. And not only that, but it randomly introduces a fake punctuation?? Are you serious?

Sigh.

I won’t get into all the ideas I’m having at present about how I would fix this book, however, what I will say is that I don’t think we should have ever left the library and I don’t think the exhausted outrage about the purpose of the characters of punctuation’s existence was a good story choice to make. Olsten really missed the mark with this one.

This cover sold me. I loved the ease of reading the facial expressions on the characters. I have to be honest, I don’t love the font of the words on the inside of the book. I was hoping for something a bit more fun like on the cover. The font was too small and felt too close together. It didn’t feel organic like the cover did. I did however love the illustrations. They were colorful and detailed and creative; especially the island of chaos. The story was silly, with the punctuation using phrases that they would be used in which was clever. In the end I enjoyed the book but wish there was more thought on the words looked on the page that made the story.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC, this is my honest review

Thank you NetGalley! This is an adorable book. I loved the illustrations as well as the storyline. Definitely one to share with your kids

A pretty cool adventure with the punctuation marks, this story is fun, informative and easy enough that everyone understands the point of how to use the punctuation marks. The illustrations are pretty cool as well.
I enjoyed it, I learned from it, so pretty nice.
Good for young ones learning grammar, not all lessons need to be boring!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great read for helping to teach punctuation. This would be great in the classroom as a read aloud to introduce punctuation or as a punctuation reminder if your students are struggling.

A humorous tale when punctuations go on a vacation. Loved the subtle humor of punctuation marks turning green while traveling on a boat. A great message to reflect on how we use punctuation to communicate and how the use of marks can change meaning. A great fun story to share with the students.

What an engaging and informative story about the different methods of punctuation! With the bold and detailed illustrations, and the clever writing, this one is sure to capture the attention of small readers and even parents! Each sentence was carefully created to show the importance and use of punctuation! I just loved this one!

Punctuation to the Rescue is bursting with colour and character.
The punctuation are fed up and have decided they are off on an adventure a vacation.....
A bit lengthly but all in all a fun read that would be perfect for an upper elementary writing lesson.

I'm not sure if the white text boxes are staying in the final print or not but that was something that stood out to me. I would rather the words blend in with the background more. It looks unfinished with the current boxes.

Thanks to Net Galley and Fleecydale Press for the advance copy.