I and You and Don't Forget Who

July 1, 2004
Gr 2-5-Cleary's mission is to make the serious side of language-arts classes more fun, and, to a large degree, he succeeds. Using a fast-moving, quick-witted rhyming text, he covers the different types of pronouns, giving examples of each. Whenever he is referring to a specific type of pronoun, it appears in the accompanying example in colored type to make it stand out. Comically crazy cats are drawn in a childlike style, adding to the book's giddy factor and making the subject matter appealing to students. Ruth Heller covered pronouns in Mine, All Mine: A Book of Pronouns (Puffin, 1999), but Cleary's style is definitely more active: "So like a pinch hitter/or a good baby-sitter, /the pronoun will say, /You can go noun!/I've got your job covered!'" A strong purchase for school or public libraries needing to update their 400s sections.-Lisa Gangemi Kropp, Middle Country Public Library, Centereach, NY

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2004
Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. From the Words Are Categorical series, which began with Cleary's " A Mink, a Fink, and Skating Rink: What Is a Noun? " (1999), this slim volume offers a child-friendly introduction to pronouns. The rhythmic, rhyming text gives simple explanations and examples of types of pronouns and their uses. Grammar mavens may take exception--or find exceptions--to the comment that "who" is "a pronoun that's constantly doing," but on the whole the text presents the major uses of pronouns with precision, brevity, and wit. The cartoon-style ink drawings brim with irrepressible humor, while the bold use of color in the artwork adds to the high-spirited look of the pages. Colored letters make the pronouns easy to identify in text that dance across the pages. An energetic, cheerful addition to grammar lessons. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)