Sign-In
Cart
The Homeschool English Book for the Kid Who Hates Writing
Paperback
Grammar & StyleWriting Instruction
Publisher Price: $59.99
Publisher: Clare Bassinger
Published: Aug 24 2026
Pages: 128
Weight: 0.40
Height: 0.27 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
They can read. They can talk. Ask them to write two sentences and the afternoon is gone.
The problem is almost never that they cannot do it. The problem is that they look at how much there is, and stop.
So this book is small on purpose.
TEN MINUTES. THREE PAGES. THIRTY DAYS.
Page one is one small rule and four things to do. Most of them are circling a word.
Page two is a piece of a story. Five sentences. Two questions, and one of them is a number.
Page three is the only writing, and on twenty-four of the thirty days it is ONE SENTENCE.
The longest thing this book will ever ask for is a single paragraph of five or six sentences, on day thirty, at the very end. That maximum is printed inside the book so nobody can quietly move it.
A REASON TO COME BACK TOMORROW
The reading is not thirty disconnected extracts. It is one continuing story in thirty small pieces.
A family moves into an old house in March. Behind a painted-over door in the hall wall there is a tin holding thirty numbered cards, written by a child who lived there in the nineteen-sixties. One card a day. Some of them point at things that no longer exist. Some of them turn out not to be instructions at all.
Day nine ends in a place that makes day ten worth opening. That is doing more work than any amount of encouragement.
THE THIRTY RULES
Sentences and fragments. Capital letters and end marks. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs. Which word is doing which job. Plurals, ordinary and odd. Both jobs of the apostrophe. Commas in lists and after the opening. Capitals in the middle of a sentence. their/there/they're, your/you're, to/too/two, and the words that sound the same. Joining sentences with and, but, so. Why a comma cannot do it alone. because, when, if. Keeping the tense. Making the verb do the work. Prefixes, suffixes, roots. One idea in one paragraph. Saying why. Checking your own work.
Every rule is three sentences long. Every day fits on one page.
TWO THINGS TO CHECK, NEVER FIVE
Each writing task has exactly two boxes underneath it, and those two are the whole mark. There is a page for the adult explaining, in plain terms, why marking the writing in red and handing it back is the fastest way to undo everything the four exercises just did.
THE ANSWER KEY WAS CHECKED BY MACHINE
Every exercise and its answer come from the same list, so the key cannot slip out of step with the questions. Before printing, each answer was tested against its own question: every circle-the-word answer is one of the words actually printed; every punctuation fix contains exactly the words of the original plus the mark being taught; every apostrophe answer is the printed sentence plus an apostrophe and nothing else; every answer naming a sentence names one that exists in that day's part of the story; and each day is numbered 1 to 4 with no gaps.
NOTHING IN HERE SAYS ANYTHING IS WRONG WITH THEM
The student pages never use the word remedial, never mention being behind, and never explain what the problem is. A book that opens by telling you what is wrong with you is a book that gets closed. The honest explanation is in the adult's section, where it belongs.
WHAT IS IN THE STORY, IN ADVANCE
No violence. Nobody is hurt and nobody dies. Nothing about anyone's body or appearance. No romance. The family is together on every page and the adults in it are calm and present. The whole plot is summarised inside the book before day one, so you know exactly what you are handing over.
Also in
Writing Instruction
1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round
Attenberg, Jami
Hardcover
Publication Manual (Official) 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Paperback
The Well-Spoken Thesaurus: The Most Powerful Ways to Say Everyday Words and Phrases
Heehler, Tom
Paperback
Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paperback
Empire of Ink: The Printers, Rogues, and Radicals Who Invented the American Newspaper
Wright, Alex
Hardcover
The Language of the Night: Essays on Writing, Science Fiction, and Fantasy
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paperback
Paying for College, 2027: Everything You Need to Maximize Financial Aid and Afford College
Chany, Kalman
Martz, Geoffrey
The Princeton Review
Paperback
Take It from Me: An Agent's Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch
Habib, Alia Hanna
Hardcover
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression (Second Edition)
Puglisi, Becca
Ackerman, Angela
Paperback
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need
Brody, Jessica
Paperback
Verb Your Enthusiasm: How to Master the Art of the Verb and Transform Your Writing
Kaufman, Sarah L.
Hardcover
Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft: A Memoir on Writing (Large Print Edition)
Coben, Harlan
Paperback
The Modern Guide to Querying Literary Agents: From Rejection to Representation in 8 Steps
McDonald, Patrick
Matesic, Alyssa
Paperback
Sit Write Here: 6 Mindfulness Practices to Help You Write More and Suffer Less
Dávila, April
Paperback
Publication Manual (Official) 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Paperback
The Writing Rope: A Framework for Explicit Writing Instruction in All Subjects
Sedita, Joan
Paperback
Blasting Through Blocks: An Artist's Way Guide to Unleashing Your Inner Creativity
Cameron, Julia
Paperback
Page One to Done: Finish Your Novel in 30 Days with the Fast Drafting Method
Brody, Jessica
Paperback
Write a Novel in 100 Days: The Busy Writer's Guide to Finishing Your Book Fast
Purcell, Kim
Paperback
How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking
Ahrens, Sönke
Paperback
Seberson Method: New Sat(r) Vocabulary Workbook: Over 700 High-Frequency Words to Master
Seberson, Katya
Paperback
Libro de caligrafía para adultos: Explorando la belleza de las letras - Mi primer cuaderno de caligrafía creativa
Style, Life Daily
Paperback
Publication Manual (Official) 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Hardcover
Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less (Revised and Updated)
Schwartz, Roy
Vandehei, Jim
Allen, Mike
Hardcover
Scriptnotes: A Book about Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters
Mazin, Craig
August, John
Hardcover
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Ninth Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers
Turabian, Kate L.
Paperback
Read These Banned Books: A Journal and 52-Week Reading Challenge from the American Library Association
American Library Association (ALA)
Paperback
Korean Stories for Language Learners: Traditional Folktales in Korean and English (Free Online Audio)
You, Eunsun
Damron, Julie
Paperback
AP English Language and Composition Premium, 2027: Prep Book with 8 Practice Tests + Online Practice
Schanhals, Michael
Paperback
Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition: A Guide to Narrative Craft
Stuckey-French, Ned
Burroway, Janet
Stuckey-French, Elizabeth
Paperback
The Vocabulary Builder Workbook: Simple Lessons and Activities to Teach Yourself Over 1,400 Must-Know Words
Lele, Chris
Magoosh
Paperback
AP English Literature and Composition Premium, 2027: Prep Book with 8 Practice Tests + Online Practice
Schanhals, Michael
Paperback
Handwriting Practice Book for Kids Ages 6-8: Printing workbook for Grades 1, 2 & 3, Learn to Trace Alphabet Letters and Numbers 1-100, Sight Words, 10
Lalgudi, Sujatha
Hippidoo
Paperback
Princeton Review AP English Language & Composition Premium Prep, 21st Edition: 8 Practice Tests + Digital Practice Online + Content Review
The Princeton Review
Paperback
The Vocabulary Workbook for 7th Grade: Weekly Activities to Boost Your Word Power
McLellan, Kelly Anne
Paperback
Learn Russian with Beginner Stories: Interlinear Russian to English
Van Den End, Kees
Hyplern, Bermuda Word
Gettys, Serafima
Paperback
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
Browne, Renni
King, Dave
Paperback
Lonely Planet French Phrasebook & Dictionary: Learn Essential Phrases & Vocabulary 3,500 Word Two-Way Dictionary Pull-Out Fast Phrases Card Travel wit
Carillet, Jean-Bernard
Masclef, Jean-Pierre
Janes, Michael
Paperback
Thinking Through Writing: A Guide to Becoming a Better Writer and Thinker
Van Belle, Jonathan
Kaag, John
Paperback
Print and Cursive Handwriting Workbook: 35 Lessons to Improve Your Penmanship
Sanders, Sally
Paperback
The Ultimate RPG Villain Backstory Guide: Prompts and Activities to Create Compelling Antiheroes, Enemies, and Bad Guys
D'Amato, James
Apelyan, Dillin
Paperback
Word Power Made Easy: The Complete Handbook for Building a Superior Vocabulary
Lewis, Norman
Paperback
1100 Words You Need to Know + Online Practice: Build Your Vocabulary in Just 15 Minutes a Day!
Gordon, Melvin
Carriero, Rich
Bromberg, Murray
Paperback
The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need, Updated Edition: Your One-Stop Source for Mastering English Grammar
Thurman, Susan
Paperback
Violent Phenomena: Essays Toward the Future of Literary Translation
Bhanot, Kavita
Tiang, Jeremy
Paperback