Skin Like Milk, Hair of Silk

December 1, 2009
Gr 3-5-Cleary provides brief definitions of similes and metaphors, offers roughly 15 examples of each one, and explains how they are used. Large pen-and-ink illustrations feature cartoon cats rendered in bold, vibrant colors. The style is fun and inviting. The text, which appears in an oversize, whimsical font, is spare, ranging from 9 to 15 words per page. Large pictures and uneven placement of the text keeps the tone playful. Students will enjoy the unstructured, fluid layout, which reads more like a picture book than a language primer. Norton Juster's "As: A Surfeit of Similes" (HarperCollins, 1989) is more comprehensive; it includes nearly 200 examples. Marvin Terban's "It Figures!: Fun Figures of Speech" (Clarion, 1993) covers similes and metaphors as well as four other figures of speech. Overall, Cleary's book is a pleasing introduction for young writers."June Shimonishi, Torrance Public Library, CA"

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