English in Blue & White

Designed for middle school courses in English teaching a balance between grammar, composition and literature.

Instructor Resources:

An electronic answer key (PDF only) is available for qualified instructors who have adopted this text for course use. Click here to request the PDF answer key.

Reviews:

"When you told me about Giles and Powell’s in general terms, I expected to like it. I was not disappointed. As a streamlined explanation of English grammar’s basic concepts and categories, English in Blue and White is exactly what is most needed and too often withheld from the middle-school students for whom it is primarily designed. It is accessible without being simplistic and thus also an excellent resource for older students playing catch-up in the field of grammar. I also admired the authors’ incisive advice on the art of writing, an Elements of Style, in effect, for younger students. What I enjoyed the most, however, was their use of sample sentences of genuine literary merit, e.g., exemplifying adverbs with that great quip from Mark Twain: “I was glad to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t know.” All in all, a very sensible and attractive work in a field where textbooks with those attributes are in short supply."
     —David Mulroy, Professor of Classics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and author of The War Against Grammar

About the Authors:

Chris Giles is the English Department Chair at Marymount of Santa Barbara. He has been teaching English to middle school students for 13 years and has a Master's degree in Middle School Education from Rosemont College.

John Powell has taught at Episcopal Academy for the past twenty years and has an A.B. from Trinity College.