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Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog
Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences | Kitty Burns Florey
7 posts | 8 read | 4 to read
Once wildly popular in grammar schools across the country, sentence diagramming has fallen out of fashion. But are we that much worse for not knowing the word-mapping method? Now, in this illustrated personal history that any language lover will adore, Kitty Burns Florey explores the rise and fall of sentence diagramming, including its invention by a mustachioed man named Brainerd Brainy Kellogg and his wealthy accomplice Alonzo Reed ... the inferior balloon diagram predecessor ... and what diagrams of sentences by Hemingway, Welty, Proust, Kerouac and other famous writers reveal about them. Florey also offers up her own common-sense approach to learning and using good grammar. And she answers some of literatures most pressing questions: Was Mark Twain or James Fenimore Cooper a better grammarian? What are the silliest grammar rules? And whats Gertude Stein got to do with any of it?
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lauraisntwilder
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Today is my birthday. 😊 My husband and son gave me a stack of books and two T-shirts, including this one. #oxfordcommaforlife

Ruthiella Perfect! 👍 Happy Birthday! 🥳🥳🥳 (edited) 4mo
Librarybelle Happy Birthday! 4mo
CatLass007 I completely approve of the Oxford comma. Happy birthday. (edited) 4mo
See All 10 Comments
Jas16 Happy Birthday 🥳 4mo
quietjenn Happy birthday! 4mo
lauraisntwilder @Jas16 Thank you! 4mo
28 likes10 comments
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jdenslow
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Just one of the greats quoted in Florey's history and appreciation of diagramming.

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TheWordJar
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We are knee-deep in sentence diagramming at the old #homeschool. The student isn‘t necessarily thrilled, but I love diagramming sentences. And it always brings me back to Sister Bernadette‘s Barking Dog. The book is full of love for the practice and includes some insane examples from classic literature (a Faulkner sentence from The Sound and the Fury is the example above). I also think it has the #bestcover—a dog and diagram!

#jingleshelves

Laura317 @TheWordJar I LOVED diagramming. It appealed to my need for categorizing and order. Could I do it today? Mmm, maybe. 6y
BookNAround I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I used to love diagramming sentences in school. 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I love it and I loved diagramming sentences!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 (edited) 6y
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Peddler410 I loved diagramming sentences in college! Haven‘t done it since but this book sounds pretty awesome! 6y
TheWordJar @Laura317 I definitely loved the structure of it all! It‘s just like riding a bike, though it‘s nice to have the answer key, too! 😂 6y
TheWordJar @BookNAround Isn‘t it delightful? If you also enjoy penmanship, she‘s written an equally delightful book on that subject 6y
TheWordJar @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Peddler410 I love all this diagramming love! ❤️❤️ 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TheWordJar I was the nerd of course!!! I admire you for homeschooling! 👏🏻👏🏻 6y
Laura317 And now I have to go find the penmanship book. My penmanship is awful, and it used to be so neat. I think it‘s because I rush myself. @TheWordJar 6y
obviateit @TheWordJar may I ask which curriculum you use? 6y
TheWordJar @obviateit The workbook in the picture is from First Language Lessons. It‘s been a pretty good grammar course, though my oldest (on Level 4 of 4) feels that it‘s much more thorough than it needs to be! 😂 6y
46 likes2 stack adds11 comments
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mkinney10
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First up for the Dewey's #readathon!

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jessicareadsthings
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I feel like this somehow conveys both order and playfulness at the same time. #art

Lacythebookworm I've wanted to read this! How are you liking it? 😊 7y
jessicareadsthings @Lacythebookworm I am loving it! My favorite part (aside from the diagrams) are all of the little notes she puts in. They're quite funny. The whole book has a lot of character. 7y
5 likes1 stack add2 comments
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ReadMeAnything1
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"...they pick up grammar and syntax effortlessly through their reading...and they do things correctly without knowing why."

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ReadMeAnything1
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Should be folding that massive pile of laundry in the background, but too caught up in sentence diagrams at the moment. I loved these in elementary school!