Lazily, Crazily, Just a Bit Nasally

April 1, 2008
Gr 1-4-The CATegorical cats are back. A professorial feline opens this offbeat lecture with a definition of adverbs and a color-coded guide to the types found throughout the book. Readers are then drawn into another of Cleary's signature rhyming narratives, which tumbles across each page verbally and visually. "Adverbs "sometimes" tell us where, like these are "here" and those are "there". "Often" they will tell us when, like this is "now" and that was "then"." Every adverb is highlighted in a bright font. Knob-nosed felines done in a rainbow of colors mime numerous examples of actions that can be performed with adverbial panache. Yellow eyes peer from within a dark cloak for ""Eerily", he stared ahead," and a tutu-wearing kitty tumbles over for "she's a "totally" terrible dancer." While the rhythm will be bouncing in listeners' heads when the lesson is over, the singsong nature of the rhyme itself may distract some students from the information being presented. Libraries that own "Dearly, Nearly, Insincerely" (Carolrhoda, 2003) may consider this title an additional purchase."Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2008
Cleary and cartoonist Gable offera secondromp with adverbs for children who need more examples beyond those given in the teams Dearly, Nearly, Insincerely: A Book about Adverbs (2005) as well as for those who simplyenjoy the merry madness that marks the Words Are CATegorical series. Comical line drawings zapped with color show animals in a wide variety of roles, from tourist to cowboy to knight. Meanwhile, the rhyming verses gallop along, playfully brandishing adverbs galore. Color coding differentiates adverbs that tell you when (pink), where (purple), how often (green), and so on. A jolly treatment of the topic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2008
Cleary's rhyming text lists several adverbs and explains (in frenetic language) how they're used. The attention-grabbing lines will likely stick in readers' heads, though they may find the examples and usages overly specific and underexplained. Colorful cartoon cats dance around the pages.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)