Brian P. Cleary is the author of the Words Are CATegorical(R), Math Is CATegorical(R), Food Is CATegorical(TM), and Animal Groups Are CATegorical(TM) series, as well as several picture books. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Martin Goneau has been working as a professional illustrator since 1997. Most of his work is dedicated to children's books and other educational publications. He lives in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.
"A bright, busy and colorful addition to the Words Are
CATegorical series, this time about prefixes.
From the definition of prefixes on the dedication page to
the helpful chart on the final page, teachers will find many
reasons to turn to this reliable series to supplement their grammar
lessons. Fully saturated colors accompany the rhyming
text, introducing common prefixes like re- and un-. Goofy
characters like wildly colored animals and extraterrestrials move
the light verse along, extending the text and helping readers
understand more challenging concepts. Using kid-pleasing words like
underclothes and bicycle adds to the interest and
fun. The final page, a chart with prefixes, meanings and examples,
is a particularly helpful addition, allowing students to both study
the concept and add examples of their own. At times, design choices
detract from the content. The prefixes are in slightly different
colors from the root words, on top of colored pages, which
sometimes makes them difficult to discern.
Whether it's for vocabulary building or helping students
understand how to take apart a word to discover its meaning, Cleary
and Goneau have the right touch." --Kirkus
Reviews
"Expanding on a topic introduced in Straight and Curvy, Meek
and Nervy (2009), Cleary's latest entry in the Words are
CATegorical series pairs a rhymed introduction to common prefixes
and how they change the meanings of words, with freewheeling
cartoon illustrations of clothed cats in diverse, loud, unnatural
colors modeling or acting out those changes. Though he avoids
bringing up messy complications like contronyms
(inflammable, oversight) and prefixes that look
the same but have different meanings (pronoun,
progress), he does tuck sufficient qualifiers into the
discourse ('"Trans-" will sometimes mean
"across." / It often hints at movement'), and in the helpful review
chart at the end, he provides both additional examples for 22
prefixes and a note on when il- is used rather than im- (it has to
do with the root word's first letter). Budding wordsmiths
in particular will benefit from this lively look at one of
language's most versatile transformative tools."
--Booklist
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