Written by: Lynne Truss, Illustrated by Bonnie Timmons

Submitted by: Mary Gerhardt

The Girl’s Like Spaghetti is a children’s book about using apostrophes correctly to convey meaning. It was written by the author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves, a popular book about commas. This book illustrates the consequences of missing or misplacing apostrophes. For example, “the giant kids’ playground” shows a large playground full of kids, while, “the giant kid’s playground” shows an enormous child dwarfing a swing set. What can technical writers learn from a children’s book? Perhaps that using plenty of examples and providing fitting—even humorous—graphics can be a very effective means of communication.