A Lime, a Mime, a Pool of Slime: More about Nouns Spiral-Bound | August 1, 2008

"Cleary's Words Are CATegorical series began with A Mink, a Fink, and a Skating Rink: What Is a Noun? (1999) and ran through verbs, prepositions, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms and homophones before cycling back to nouns again. This time the treatment gives more examples of 'a person, place, or thing' and then goes on to include abstract and proper nouns. As before, the definitions are energized by Cleary's often goofy examples, delivered in romping rhymes and illustrated with verve: 'Proper nouns / all name specific people, things, and places. / Like Uncle Lou / or Timbuktu, / they start with upper cases.' On every page the daffiness is amplified by the illustrations. Whatever the setting, from Boston to Paris, from castle to barnyard, the wildly colored, cartoonlike drawings have a zany edge. Though the presentation might be slapdash, the information will stick. Recommended as an antidote to snooze-producing grammar texts."
--Booklist