Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4^-8. "Adjectives are words like flashy, / Vibrant, bright, and somewhat trashy." A playful, rhyming text and a colorful cast of wild cartoon cats show what adjectives are and how they work (from "cold, dark mornings" to "hot pink shades"). The sound of the words, the exaggeration, and the nonsense scenarios will appeal to kids, and, with the help of an adult, beginning readers will get the idea that adjectives "modify" nouns and help tell us more about ourselves and what's around us. --Hazel Rochman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-Descriptive words of many kinds are presented in bouncy, rhyming text: "They're colorful, like mauve and puce,/They help explain, like lean and loose,/Baggy, saggy, stretchy, strong,/Much too short or way too long." The text bounces, too, with the words printed in wavy lines and unevenly sized letters. The adjectives are colorfully highlighted and readers will see their function demonstrated in a wide variety of contexts. Little round cats and quirky humans, both with fat noses and wide eyes, humorously illustrate the meanings. The book will probably be used most often to enliven grammar lessons, and is a companion to A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What Is a Noun? (Carolrhoda, 1999). Unfortunately, the illustrations are too small for group use. While Ruth Heller's Many Luscious Lollipops (Grosset & Dunlap, 1989) is still hard to beat on the subject, Hairy, Scary, Ordinary is a lighthearted, multifaceted illustration of the importance of adjectives in our language.-Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Silly, big-nosed cartoon cats on pastel backgrounds clown around with rhymed examples of adjectives, mixed with descriptions of what adjectives do: They modify nouns in ways that help tell us / If someoneÆs sincere, delighted, or jealous. The adjectives in the text are printed in energetic, creative, and colorful fonts. Perhaps kids wonÆt generalize from the examples, but theyÆll enjoy the lesson. From HORN BOOK Fall 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The team that brought us A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What Is a Noun?(1999) turns its attention with equal felicity to defining adjectives in this antic, illustrated poem. Adjectives, readers discover, are words that ``modify nouns in ways that help tell us / If someone's sincere, delighted, or jealous, / If jackets are herringbone, pinstriped, or plaid, / if babies are crabby, excited, or glad.'' Prosmitsky's amusing cartoons of silly humans and goofy cats illustrate every adjective that lurks in the text, thus reinforcing each meaning visually. Altogether, this entertaining lecture will go far to enliven and enlighten language classes as well as add to the reader's vocabulary. Neat, clever, commendable, and groovy. (Picture book. 7-9)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
