Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Punctuation with pizzazz. How does an exclamation mark learn his purpose? Pre-readers and readers alike will giggle and cheer to see the process. The setting is a warm yellowish beige background with a faint pulpy pattern and repeating horizontal lines with dotted lines halfway between them--penmanship paper. Each bold, black punctuation mark has a minimalist yet expressive face inside its circular dot. "He stood out," explains the first page, as the titular protagonist looks on doubtfully. He tries hanging around with periods, but squishing his extension down into a spring doesn't really work; even prostrate, "he just wasn't like everyone else. Period." (Hee! Rosenthal gleefully puns instead of naming any punctuation.) Mournful, "confused, flummoxed, and deflated," the exclamation mark's line tangles and flops. Then someone unexpected arrives. "Hello? Who are you?" queries the newbie, jovially pummeling the exclamation mark with 17 manic inquiries at once. "Stop!" screams the exclamation mark in enormous, bumpy-edged letters--and there's his identity! The outburst's anxious vibe dissipates immediately (and the question mark is undaunted by being yelled at). Finally, the protagonist has "[broken] free from a life sentence." Snapping up usages that match his newfound personality, he zooms back to show the other punctuation marks. The zippy relationship between exclamation mark and question mark continues beyond the acknowledgements page. Funny and spirited (and secretly educational, but nobody will notice). (Picture book. 4-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* From the dynamic team that brought you Duck! Rabbit! (2009) comes this introduction to the most exuberant punctuation mark of all: the exclamation point. At first, !, a round circle with a face, doesn't like standing out in a crowd; in a line-up of seven smiling faces, which look like period marks, he's the only one with a line above his head. ! tries clever ways to fit in (flipping himself upside down, thereby squashing his tail) and even thinks about running away, until he meets a formidable force: the question mark. After a barrage of questions from ? ( Do you like frogs? Can you hula-hoop? ), ! finds his voice and tells him to STOP! From there, !'s confidence begins to grow and, soon, there's no stopping his unbridled joy. The spare, clever illustrations all round, black-outlined punctuation marks with faces are set on the kind of thick-lined paper kindergarteners use, and the overall design effect is lovely. The text is similarly simple, but a change in the size and color of the font signifies important moments. With the celebrating-your-strengths angle, fun grammar lesson, and many classroom tie-in possibilities, this picture book deserves a !!!.--Kelley, Ann Copyright 2010 Booklist

School Library Journal
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K-Gr 2-When an exclamation mark desperately tries to fit in with a group of periods, he tries many ways to rid himself of his extension line, but he just can't seem to shake it. Disillusioned, he decides to run away, but not before he is barraged with a series of questions by a very curious question mark. When he can take no more, the exclamation point screams "STOP!" and ultimately finds his identity. Rosenthal's tongue-in-cheek text will entertain children while teaching them punctuation. The story is narrated by Priscilla Holbrook, Emily Eiden, and MacLeod Andrews, whose voices perfectly compliment the text, while upbeat background music plays throughout. It includes two read-along versions, one with sound effects for page turns and one without. This is definitely a title to be excited about and worthy of several exclamation marks!!!! Recommended for all library collections.-Amy Joslyn, Fairport Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly
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Rosenthal and Lichtenheld (the team behind Duck! Rabbit! and other titles) give punctuation personalities in this witty calligraphic jaunt. Against a background of lined penmanship paper, an exclamation mark realizes he differs from his neighbors, a neat row of periods. Like them, he consists of a smiley face drawn in swooshes of expressive black ink, but above his head stands a resolute vertical dash. He twists and curls his topper to no avail, until-"Hello? Who are you?"-an inquisitive question mark appears. Bothered by the newcomer's incessant queries ("When's your birthday? Know any good jokes?"), the hero bellows a spread-shaking "Stop!" and discovers his talent for assertions, from "Hi!" to "Wow!" and "Look what I can do!" Thanks to savvy design, the exclamation mark's announcements are printed in different sizes and colors to subtly indicate emphasis and tone, yet the mark never meets others like himself and therefore never suffers from overuse. With a restraint that's more declaratory than exclamatory, Rosenthal and Lichtenheld cleverly raise awareness of the ways punctuation conveys mood. Ages 4-8. Agent: Amy Rennert, the Amy Rennert Agency, (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

An exclamation mark tries to fit in with a group of quiet periods, but he doesn't really understand his purpose in life until he meets a nosy question mark. She simply won't stop asking questions until he commands her to "STOP!" The latest offering from this author-illustrator duo works best when it relies more on visual humor than on wordplay. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 1-5-Through a perfect pairing of clever design and tongue-in-cheek humor, Rosenthal and Lichtenheld effectively demonstrate the function of the exclamation mark (as well as the period and question mark) in this tale about a depressed punctuation mark that just doesn't fit in. On an unadorned backdrop of lined paper, several periods and one exclamation mark are lined up in a row. Clearly, he stands out in a crowd. Like Elmer in David McKee's classic tale, the exclamation mark struggles with his difference and tries to blend in. When the downcast punctuation meets a question mark who overwhelms him with inquiries, our hero finally finds his voice and tells the other to "Stop!" From there, he builds his confidence in making declarative statements and leaves the group "to make his mark." Rosenthal shines in her play on words ("It was like he broke free from a life sentence"). Lichtenheld's minimalist style is deceivingly simple; a curlicue or crumpled line, combined with an amazingly impressive circle with eyes and a mouth, is all that's needed to convey emotion when the exclamation mark is "confused, flummoxed, and deflated." This fun-to-read tale will find a ready home in language-arts lessons, reminding burgeoning elementary-age writers which punctuation personality belongs in which type of sentence-without the tedium that accompanies traditional grammar lessons. This one is a must-have!!!-Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, Farmington Hills, MI (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.