Marvin Terban

"Laugh It Up! The Funny Kids' Guide to Cracking Jokes" (2019)

"Marvin Terban's Guide to Grammar Parts of Speech" (2014)

Ready! Set! Research! Your Fast And Fun Guide To Writing Research Papers That Rock (2007)

The Ultimate Spelling & Vocabulary Reference (2007)

Terban has been called a "master of children's wordplay" by ALA Booklist and "Mr. English for Kids" by the Children's Book-of-the-Month Club. He is also Scholastic's Professor Grammar. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature (2006) said that Marvin Terban’s books are “surprisingly intriguing and humorous” with “catchy titles and humorous illustrations” that “captivate anyone who loves words.” School Library Journal has called his books "excellent," "clever," "enjoyable," "informative," "easy to understand," "lively," "teacher-pleasers," "fascinating," and "just fun to read." ALA Booklist called Marvin Terban a "writer who captivates young people . . . In his quiet way this teacher-writer excites children about language and challenges them to use it playfully and creatively."

Terban's humorous books on language arts skills and wordplay are used in schools all over the United States and abroad. They have even made it as far as Shanghai University in China, where they are used to teach English to adults. His Scholastic Dictionary of Idioms has been translated into Japanese, Korean, and Bulgarian. Two of his books were turned into early computer games by Houghton Mifflin. He and his wife Karen, a former special education instructor, also wrote two activity books for teachers. Three of his Scholastic books, Checking Your Grammar, Dictionary of Idioms, and Dictionary of Spelling, have sold well over one million copies each. In 2005, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international organization of over 30,000 creators of children's books, named Marvin Terban their Member of the Year for his many contributions to the Society and children's literacy.

Punctuation Power: Punctuation and How to Use It (2002)

Funny You Should Ask: How to Make up Jokes and Riddles with Wordplay (1992)

Hey, Hay!: A Wagonful of Funny Homonym Riddles (1991)

Your Foot's on My Feet: And Other Tricky Nouns (1986)

Terban was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and began his career as an author with a book that he wrote and drew in the first grade about a fuzzy green dragon. His teacher thought that it was so good that she put it on display in the local public library. To read it, his parents had to check it out of the library. His first real writing job was a weekly column for his local newspaper, The Chelsea Record, when he was in high school. He was also the editor of and a frequent contributor to his high school newspaper and literary magazine. In high school, he was voted "The Boy Most Likely to Succeed." He went to Tufts and Columbia Universities, where he received bachelor's and master's degrees respectively. For sixty years (1963-2022), he has taught English, Latin, Public Speaking, Computer, Theater, Filmmaking, and other subjects at the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School (founded 1764) on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.

Marvin I. Terban (born 28 April 1940) is a popular, best-selling American children's book author and a long-time educator. Called a "master of children's wordplay" by ALA Booklist and "Mr. English for Kids" by the Children's Book-of-the-Month Club, he has written 40 books for young readers, most of them about the English language. He is also Scholastic's "Professor Grammar." Marvin Terban has been teaching English, Latin, and other subjects at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in New York for 60 years.