This is a fabulous and entertaining
book about punctuation! She starts with a problem set out in the title of the
book. The addition of a single comma can totally change the meaning of a
sentence because the words “shoots” and “leaves” have two meanings in English.
Plants have leaves for photosynthesis and trees grow by sending out shoots
which develop into branches. Pandas are vegetarians and so you can say that a
panda eats shoots and leaves. But now add a comma: a panda eats, shoots and
leaves. So a panda turns up, has a meal, fires a gun and walks out. The book is
full of humorous examples like this.
