Product Description

In this fun-filled book, playful puns and comical cartoon cats combine to show, not tell, readers what prepositions are all about. Each preposition in the text, like under, over, by the clover, about, throughout, and next to Rover, is highlighted in color for easy identification. This is the newest addition to the Words Are CATagorical(tm) series, which has sold over 450,000 copies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107653 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
"Prepositions show us where, like in your bed, beside the chair " With snappy rhyme and comic illustrations, Under, over, by the Clover: What Is a Preposition? marks the fourth book in the Words Are Categorical series by Brian P. Cleary, illus. by Brian Gable. This summer, look for the paperback edition of their To Root, to Toot, to Parachute: What Is a Verb?
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-The fourth in a series about the parts of speech, this book explains that a preposition "connects a noun or pronoun to other words in a sentence." Gable's colorful cartoonlike creatures show prepositions in action, such as "beside the chair," "During recess after school, in between the pond and pool" and "next to Rover." The prepositions are all printed in different colors, which draws attention to them. Ruth Heller's Behind the Mask: A Book about Prepositions (Grosset & Dunlap, 1995) is another choice for students, but Cleary's snappy rhymes and clear explanations of usage are also very appealing.
Wendy S. Carroll, Montclair Cooperative School, NJ
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. Brian P. Cleary has already sailed through nouns, verbs, and adjectives in such books as To Root, to Toot, to Parachute: What Is a Verb (2001). Here, in rhymed couplets, the cast of doglike animals in unlikely colors takes on prepositions: "They tell us time and also place, / Like past 9:30, in your face." Prepositions are set in bright colors in the text, just in case you missed them. The author also takes on the myth that a sentence shouldn't end with one, "But write your sentence carefully and you'll discover that / ending with a preposition is often where it's at." The teal, purple, orange, and pea-green creatures lift weights, drive trucks, dance, and even go to Timbuktu in pursuit of their chosen part of speech, and children will enjoy and learn from the ride. GraceAnne A. DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Time to learn your grammar!
These books are so good at helping kids learn the parts of speech. They give so many clear examples of sentences, with the specific part of speech in a different color so everyone will notice it. I used these in a classroom during english class and they all loved it. A+ to this book!

Takes the pain out of grammar!
Kudos to Brian P. Cleary and Brian Gable for their terrific book about Prepositions! My nine year-old learned all about the function of this difficult part of speech in the few minutes it took for us to sail through the funny, rhyming text. The illustrated cat-like characters are bright and colorful, and the prepositions themselves are highlighted to make thme easier to identify. Reminds me a little of the schoolhouse rock show from my childhood!

My Students finally know this part of speech!
I teach 4th grade in a suburban school system where the kids are pretty bright, but prepositions have always been a little sticky for this age group. Brian P. Cleary's new book, UNDER, OVER BY THE CLOVER: What is a Preposition, is a class favorite, and also a favorite of mine because it takes on a kind of tricky part of speech and leaves my kids smiling. I liked his other books about nouns and verbs and adjectives also! This clarifies the preposition's role in our language, and is funny and catchy to boot!