School Library Journal Review
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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Cleary and cartoonist Gable offer a second romp with adverbs for children who need more examples beyond those given in the team's Dearly, Nearly, Insincerely: A Book about Adverbs (2005) as well as for those who simply enjoy 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.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2008 Booklist
