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? (Aug.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal
Gr 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.
Kirkus Reviews
Cleary (To Root, to Toot, to Parachute: What Is a Verb?, 2001, etc.) details the ins and outs of prepositions in this fourth entry in his Words Are Categorical series. The rhyming grammar lesson is illustrated this time by newcomer Gable with cartoon-style cats in creative color combinations demonstrating the prepositions, which are printed in bright colors for additional emphasis. The reader sees cats in bed, beside the chair, and in many other locations, including a raft heading toward Mississippi, with more cats going "through the yard of Chris, the hippie." Cleary also dismisses the outdated rule banning sentences ending in prepositions with a clever rhyme: "Ever since the olden days, there's been a silly myth / That prepositions aren't correct to end a sentence with." His humorous text does a solid but entertaining job of introducing different types of prepositions and formulating a workable definition. Although not as visually appealing as Ruth Heller's similar series on the parts of speech, this work will be used by teachers in the elementary-school classroom, especially in schools where the others in the series are popular. (Nonfiction. 7-9)
