The elements of style

Blends the legendary text with stunning full-color illustrations to give a whole new meaning to learning (and loving!) grammar. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

There is probably not a book more unlikely to be illustrated than The Elements of Style. Originally written by Cornell English professor William Strunk, then updated by Strunk's former student E. B. White, this famously pithy guide to English grammar has instructed writers for over eighty years. Who could illustrate such a thing? And how? Maira Kalman could. And she has -- with stunning elegance, wit, and heart. Strunk and White's little book sets forth eleven rules of usage, eleven principles of composition, and a list of commonly misused words and expressions. Example sentences show proper and improper usage. Kalman's stroke of genius is to illustrate these random, and often deliciously strange, example sentences. A sentence demonstrating Rule 3 (""Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas"") is: ""Well, Susan, this is a fine mess you are in."" Kalman paints a big-eared, guilty-eyed basset hound. A dreamlike scene of a woman floating over her bed illustrates the Rule 17 (""Omit needless words"") example sentence: ""Her story is strange."" The play between precise rules and mysterious illustrations is pure Dada fun. The red cloth cover and clean, bold design complete this new work of art: The Elements of Style -- now by Strunk, White, and Kalman. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Blends the legendary text with stunning full-color illustrations to give a whole new meaning to learning (and loving!) grammar. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.