Marvin Terban and His Books
Marvin Terban is best known for making the peculiarities of the
English language fun and easy for children to learn. Many of his books began as
grammar games he used in his classroom at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory
School in New York City, he has been teaching for over 40 years,
with some breaks for writing and speaking engagements.
He was born in 1940 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He started
writing for the public in high school, beginning with a column for the
local paper, and moving on to become the editor of his school newspaper
and literary magazine. He received his higher education at Tufts and Columbia
Universities. He has spoken about the English language at schools across America
and as far away as Israel and Japan. Two of his books have been made into
computer games. He also wrote two books for teachers with his wife, Karen, who
is a special education teacher. All in all, Terban has done much to make
learning English much more entertaining.
But that's not all. He also acts in local community theater
plays to raise money for charity. He's even had small parts in movies
directed by Woody Allen. (He played the part of a party guest in Alice,
and the part of a seder guest in Crimes and Misdemeanors)
He has directed plays in summer camps for children in the Catskill Mountains, as
well. He and Karen live in New York City across from Central Park. They have two
adult children and two cats.
Marvin Terban's Books
You can click on images with blue borders to
enlarge them.
The
Dove Dove: Funny Homograph Riddles, illustrated by Tom Huffman. Houghton
Mifflin, 1988. This book contains riddles like the following: "Divide the
costumes into different piles." To find the answer, one must replace the
'divide' and 'different' with a word that is pronounced in two different ways:
in this case, "separate." (There are some pictorial clues in the book, but these
riddles are challenging enough to use with secondary students. ) These can make
nice puzzles to put on the board for students to figure out as they come into
class, or they could be used as bonus questions on vocabulary tests. 64
pages. BTH-2758. $7.16-D
Eight
Ate: A Feast of Homonym Riddles. Illustrated by Giulio Maestro. Houghton
Mifflin, 1982. Contains riddles that can be answered by a pair or trio of
homonyms. Example: "What is a large animal with thick fur but no clothes on?"
Give up? It’s a bare bear, of course. Again, the pictures would have given you
visual clues. This book is not quite as challenging as Dove Dove, so it can be
used more easily with junior age children. They could actually be used as cues
for dictations on spelling tests to see if students can use the words properly,
and these riddles should definitely help students remembers the correct spelling
for each use. No page numbers. BTH-2756. $7.16-D
Funny
You Should Ask: How to Make Up Jokes and Riddles With Wordplay,
illustrated by john O'Brien. Houghton Mifflin, 1992. In this book you can learn
an innovative way to interest your students in vocabulary exercises. Encourage
them to use different kinds of word play to write or speak their own jokes and
riddles, as this book directs. 64 pages. BTH-2751. $7.16-D
Guppies
in Tuxedos: Funny Eponyms, Illustrated by Giulio Maestro. Houghton
Mifflin, 1988. This book traces the origins of 100 eponyms -- words derived from
the names of people or places. 64 pages. BTH-2752. $7.16-D
In
a Pickle and Other Funny Idioms. Illustrated by Giulio Maestro. Houghton
Mifflin, 1983. This humorous look at common idioms shows them accompanied by
pictures of the literal meaning of the figurative expressions. 64 pages.
BTH-2753. $7.16-D
It Figures. Houghton Mifflin. This book explains
figurative language and poetic techniques. 64 pages. BTH-2760. $7.16-D
Mad
as a Wet Hen and Other Funny Idioms. Illustrated by Giulio Maestro.
Houghton Mifflin, 1987.This book focuses on idioms having to do with animals,
body parts, feelings, colors, food, and hats. Each idiom is accompanied by a
humorous literal interpretation of the idiom. 64 pages. BTH-2757. $7.16-D
 Punching
the Clock: Funny Action Idioms,
illustrated by Tom Huffman. Houghton
Mifflin, 1990. This book contains the meaning of several idioms which focus on
verbs such as 'raising taxes,' 'hold your horses,'throwing one's weight around,'
and about 97 more. Most are accompanied by humorous illustrations of their
literal meanings. 64 pages. BTH-2759. $7.16-D
Too
Hot to Hoot: Funny Palindrome Riddles. Illustrated by Giulio Maestro.
Houghton Mifflin, 1985. These challenge my brain. Beginning with three letter
words, these riddles with picture hints get progressively harder as one has to
come up with words and phrases spelled the same forwards and backwards.
64 pages. BTH-2754. $7.16-D
Your
Foot's on My Feet and Other Tricky Nouns. Illustrated by Giulio Maestro.
Houghton Mifflin, 1986. This book explores the plural forms of 90 irregular
nouns through humorous rhymes and tongue twisters. It covers nouns which change
their endings, nouns that change in the middle, nouns that don't change at all,
nouns that have more than one plural, and oddities. 62 pages.
BTH-2755. $7.16-D
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