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Emma Book Series by Dana & Amber Wall Offers Parents Help with Grammar Education & a Giveaway

We are kicking off our summer learning blog series with a a series of grammar-teaching books for elementary aged students.  Because--grammar struggles are pretty common for both girls and boys during those elementary school years--and it is often left up to Mom and Dad to fill in some educational gaps over those summer months to get students on pace for the upcoming school year!  Today, we have the Emma series by Dana & Amber Wall--and this series offers parents some piece by piece help with basic, grammar education.    At the end of the post--we would also like to offer one reader the opportunity to enter to win the first four books of this children's series!



We received a complimentary copy of each of the first four books of this grammar themed, children's series.  All opinions are our own.

Emma Has a Dilemma
What did we think of Emma has a Dilemma?  This is actually a very cute story following little Emma as she realizes that she did not quite understand the differences between nouns and pronouns during her latest grammar (language arts) test--and Wizard Jake teaches her the basics via a rhyming story/dialogue. The book does a really nice job of explaining the differences between nouns and pronouns in a fun way.  Readers will find accurate examples and a short and simple story.  I flinched a bit at the inconsistencies in the punctuation of the dialogue and the rhyming lines.  While, I was distracted by the punctuation--the kids were focused on the message of the book--and getting to the meat of the noun and pronoun differences and didn't really notice the inconsistencies.   In spite of my punctuation hang-ups--this book really puts nouns/pronouns in the proper spaces and creates a quick, easy, painless (probably even fun) launching point toward some summer learning worksheets, printables, or quiz style noun/pronoun recognition.

Emma's All Gloom as She Cleans her Room
 
What Did we Think of Emma's All Gloom as She Cleans her Room?  This book seems to assume that you know Emma (and her grammar woes) without any "refresher" and that you expect Wizard Jake to swoop in and teach Emma a lesson.  This time--the grammar lesson seems rather quick--and thrown in.  Readers learn a handful of conjunctions and Emma's homework is done while she cleans her room.  The inconsistent punctuation bothered me less in this book than the first.

Emma Jane Goes on a Plane
 
What did we think of Emma Jane Goes on a Plane?  Readers take a quick look at metaphors and similes in this story.   This book does let readers sense that Wizard Jake appears to help Emma with grammar homework.  The relationship between metaphor and simile is a bit more difficult to distinguish with Emma's dialogue--but, it offers a great starting point into the subject with its examples.

Emma Beams during a Wonderful Dream
 
What did we think of Emma Beams during a Wonderful Dream.   This book lets readers consider a brief look at comparatives and superlatives.  This subject is a little more difficult for readers of the book's intended age range to understand--and I'm not sure that the few examples really clarify this grammar distinction much for children reading on their own.

What are our final thoughts on the Emma grammar book series by Dana & Amber Wall? 

The Emma series serves a need for younger elementary aged readers.   My oldest daughter read very well--and, she wrote very, well-structured sentences and paragraphs in her early elementary school years.  Unfortunately, we discovered, that while she could read all of the words and, generally, write well structured sentences--she did not always understand the words that she wrote or understand WHY she wrote sentences in the way that she did.  She just wrote in a manner that "sounded" right--since proper grammar was spoken at home. She "passed" as above average until 3rd grade...when Language Arts class questions became more direct.  More specific.  She did not understand the differences between nouns and pronouns or the differences between metaphors and similes without a lot of work at home. Kids love patterns and routines--and this book series offers parents a developing, SET of grammar "lessons" for elementary aged kids.

Readers should study the lesson/topic at hand & keep the series audience in perspective. There are some grammar/punctuation inconsistencies in each and every one of these books.  These inconsistencies made the writer in me cringe during the first book...and step back to re-evaluate the series as a whole from a grammar-teaching standpoint.   THEN.  my 11 year old daughter said--"Younger kids who are struggling with grammar won't notice the missing punctuation--they are struggling with basics...like nouns and verbs and terms--and those mistakes may actually help them relate to the story.  It shows readers that Emma isn't perfect--and it's Emma's story."  Hmm.  Interesting perspective--and maybe a valid one for parents.  Readers need to look at ONLY the grammar topic at hand (pronouns/superlatives/conjunctions/etc.) ...and let the series build.  By the 3rd book--I found myself better able to focus on the grammar topic rather than my quirks with inconsistencies and punctuation.

Would I recommend the Emma Series by Dana & Amber Wall?  If your child is struggling with the basic terms and ideas presented in grammar--or has yet to learn them at all--check into this series from the beginning.  The definitions and examples of each grammar topic offer great launching points to find additional grammar related worksheets and educational resources to further this initial introduction.  Is the series perfect?  No.  The actual grammar lessons presented are short--but, I actually like that.  I am a huge fan of learning without feeling like it's a textbook or a lesson!  Each book has its own grammatical glitches in more advanced punctuation and/or punctuation consistency.  BUT.  I am a huge fan of introducing a quick topic per week (in a fun, non-school-like format) over the summer to my kids--from each of their school/extracurricular activities/ subjects. This series certainly offers the opportunity to introduce (or review) a grammar area each week with each book in the series--and follow the series as it grows!  I am hoping that the books' punctuation and writing style of the books will grow with Emma as she learns more grammar skills through the series.

Meet the Authors
Dana and Amber Wall created the Emma series, starting with “Emma Has a Dilemma!,” because of their love of teaching grammar. Dana writes screenplays and is currently Head of Production for Bully Pictures. Amber is a junior honors student at Marymount High School in Los Angeles where she also serves as assistant editor for her school newspaper “The Anchor.” They currently live in Manhattan Beach, California.

Enter to Win the First Four Books of the Emma Series


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51 Comments

  1. I like putting together educational puzzles with my grandsons.

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  2. My family and I enjoy hiking during the summertime.

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  3. We love going to the library and on trips to parks.

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  4. My favorite learning activity is reading.

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  5. We love going on nature hikes and reading

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  6. Matching games and puzzles are my favorite for summer learning.

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  7. going to museums and aquariums

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  8. Taking the grandchildren to the beach and the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium.

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  9. Reading. Patty wright

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  10. We love reading and getting outside to enjoy nature.

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  11. Reading.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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  12. Reading is our favorite activity

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  13. I like learning through play with my son, like doing science experiments.

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  14. We love going to childrens and science museums!
    addictedtorodeo at gmail dot com
    Ashley C

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  15. I like to play educational games during the summer.

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  16. We like puzzles, books and songs or games that make learning fun.

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  17. My favorite summer learning activity is a nature hike

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  18. I enjoy taking my children to the library once a week. They have story time and then check out books.

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  19. We love going to the science museum

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  20. My grandson is young still, but it's never too young. We are working on counting. For example, this weekend we are having a memorial day bbq, but we are also having water balloons, so Carter will be counting out 10 water balloons for each person!

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  21. I like playing brain games online.

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  22. educational games for inside time and getting out to parks, lakes, creeks for outside learning.

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  23. we get a workbook each summer and work on that so we can learn a little each day

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  24. I would say doing summer reading program

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  25. We love to visit museums and the zoo, and do lots of reading.

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  26. My favorite activity is how the kids will suggest ideas of what they think they would like to do and then we make plans for something related. It is like a summer scavenger hunt = PRICELIESS

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  27. Our school has a summer ar program, which help my son get to his reading level up for his grade.

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  28. Going to the science museums in our area,natbelinsky@verizon.net

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  29. Our daily language review book and number of the day worksheets.

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  30. We do a summer reading program with our local library

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  31. We like going to the library and visiting aquariums, museums, zoos, etc. during the summer.

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  32. we love camping and going to pow wows

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  33. Our favorite summer learning activity is reading everyday and doing school summer work.

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  34. Our favorite summer learning activity is nature hikes. I print out a scavenger hunt sheet some squares have pictures some squares have words only. That way it doesn't seem like it's school work. (Or at least she hasn't caught on YET!)

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  35. I love to teach the kids in everything that we do. We try to find some neat fact that they are not aware of yet to teach them something new.

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  36. I love doing puzzles and nature hikes with my daughter.

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  37. My daughter homeschools her three children year round. They do like to do fun things in the summer. They do a reading program at the local library and do some traveling and visit different museums and historical sites. Thanks!

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  38. I love taking my daughter swimming and teaching her how to enjoy being outside away from technology!

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  39. Going to museums and swimming.

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  40. learning math while jumping on the trampoline.

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  41. I like to take my granddaughters on walks and find bugs to learn about.

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  42. We do a lot of geocaching in the summer. It always takes us to new places and we do lots of hands on learning along the way!

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  43. We love reading, hiking and going to the museums
    Thank You

    Fiona N

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