Cool! Whoa! Ah and Oh!

February 1, 2011
Grades 2-4 This colorful entry in the Words Are CATegorical series defines an interjection as a word or phrase spoken suddenly and used to show emotion, then demonstrates its uses in a rhyming, rhythmic text. Throughout, the level of Clearys inventive verbal humor is greatly magnified by Gables madcap drawings of dressed animals dramatizing the sentences with cartoon-style exaggeration. Unlike earlier subjects covered in the series, interjections can include many parts of speech. Language-arts teachers will appreciate the variety of examples, while children will enjoy the comic relief and, with any luck, absorb the concept along the way.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)