What do you think?
Rate this book
Words Are CATegorical ®
I and You and Don't Forget Who: What Is a Pronoun?
Have fun with language!
The latest addition to the best-selling Words Are CATegorical(R) series, this fun-filled guide uses playful puns and humorous illustrations to creatively clarify the concept of pronouns. Key pronouns appear in color for easy identification to show, not tell, readers what pronouns are all about.
The latest addition to the best-selling Words Are CATegorical(R) series, this fun-filled guide uses playful puns and humorous illustrations to creatively clarify the concept of pronouns. Key pronouns appear in color for easy identification to show, not tell, readers what pronouns are all about.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2004
14 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
July 7, 2020
This starts with a definition of a pronoun as "A word that takes the place of a noun." I kid you not.
The text itself is accurate enough, but the pictures and sort-of-story are probably so amusing and distracting that a learner will not get much out of this book.
No 'further reading,' no lesson plan suggestions or bonus activities.
Read Mine, All Mine!: A Book About Pronouns instead. While it's true that the pictures there are beautiful, they aren't as distracting, as there's no story arc. And while it's true that there are no addendum there, either, the book itself is an effective lesson.
(Read for July 2020 Children's Books group... and that's two by Cleary. I'm done with him!)
The text itself is accurate enough, but the pictures and sort-of-story are probably so amusing and distracting that a learner will not get much out of this book.
No 'further reading,' no lesson plan suggestions or bonus activities.
Read Mine, All Mine!: A Book About Pronouns instead. While it's true that the pictures there are beautiful, they aren't as distracting, as there's no story arc. And while it's true that there are no addendum there, either, the book itself is an effective lesson.
(Read for July 2020 Children's Books group... and that's two by Cleary. I'm done with him!)
March 2, 2017
Text: 5 stars
Illustrations: 3 stars
Part of the Words Are CATegorical series. Useful children's nonfiction picture book about pronouns. Discusses the functions of pronouns and provides solid explanations of the various types of pronouns, with examples. Covers personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and interrogative pronouns, but leaves out reflexive pronouns.
The rhyming text makes learning fun and is surprisingly clear. The cartoon-like art style also adds to the kid appeal of the book and helps to make the education more interesting for children. The illustrations provide strong visual support for the concepts presented in the book.
Illustrations: 3 stars
Part of the Words Are CATegorical series. Useful children's nonfiction picture book about pronouns. Discusses the functions of pronouns and provides solid explanations of the various types of pronouns, with examples. Covers personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and interrogative pronouns, but leaves out reflexive pronouns.
The rhyming text makes learning fun and is surprisingly clear. The cartoon-like art style also adds to the kid appeal of the book and helps to make the education more interesting for children. The illustrations provide strong visual support for the concepts presented in the book.
June 13, 2010
The book covers pronouns and many of their forms: personal, possessive, demonstrative, indefinite, and interrogative. The zany rhymes and pictures render the subject interesting for elementary-school children. Cleary addresses style and the purpose of pronouns by explaining that they help us avoid repetition. He also explains usage, the case of "who" and "whom," in a way accessible by younger children. All pronouns are easily spotted due to the bright colors of their text. If he only addressed reflexive pronouns, the book would be complete.
November 21, 2010
The kids really seemed to like it. Not too fond of the weird creatures but they get their point across. I used it in an introductory lesson on pronouns and most kids got it. He explained things well. Would use it again.
November 22, 2011
This is a very good book which helped me understand a lot more about pronouns!!!!!! It gave me a lot of information which totally help me at school!!!! :)
August 1, 2018
I found another Brian Cleary book at our library that I hadn't read. These always make me smile. Alena likes them too, probably because I read them so happily.
April 29, 2015
Personal reaction: I am very interested in this book because of its theme and ways of showing information. The theme of it is to learn a pronoun. As a foreign student, I've learned English for a long time. I still remember grammars and some words that I learned from books. For example, when I learned possessive pronouns, my parents bought a picture book, explaining the meaning of pronoun and how it is used. The book used different stories when explaining different pronouns. While reading this book, it reminded me of the old book. I would recommend this book to children because they would understand and remember the concept of a pronoun easily.
- As an information book, this would help first graders to understand the concept of a pronoun. First graders are beginners of reading and writing. By learning pronouns, they would develop their reading as well as writing skills.
- Moreover, as this book includes many forms of pronouns, including possessive, demonstrative, indefinite, and interrogative. It would expand children's writing skills when teachers ask them to write short sentences with different types of pronouns, after children read this book independently.
- Because animals are main characters, children would enjoy reading this book. The animals teach pronouns by telling their own stories. By following their stories, children would understand pronouns. For example, when explaining a possessive pronoun, there are two mouses. One mouse takes a cooke away from the other mouse. Thus, the second mouse says, "this cookie is mine. it's not hers."
- The illustrations express very detailed parts of the text. For example, for the sentence, "demonstrative pronouns help pint something out", in the illustration, a mouse points a cake out.
- All pronouns are easily spotted due to the bright colors of their text. For example, "Aren't you glad you've discovered the helpful and practical pronoun?", in this sentence, "you, you, and pronoun" are bright colors on them.
- The author wrote other grammar books, as well. For instance, there are "what is a noun?, what is a verb?, what is an adjective?, and what is a preposition?"books. When children finish reading this book, teachers could recommend the other books to them. It would help children to expand their language skills.
- As this book focuses on teaching pronouns, it uses very simple and short sentences. Also, words, used in this book, are easy for young children. As children would easily read this book independently, they would enjoy reading this book as well as understand the meaning of pronouns.
- The order of sentences might be confusing for children. Some sentences begin on the top of pages, but end on the bottom of the pages. For example, "Personal pronouns stand in for a noun", this sentence is on the top of a page, however, "like Mrs. McKinley or Gradly" is on the bottom of the page.
- This book mostly asks questions to readers. For example, "with whom am I speaking?" "to whom would you like me to glue it?" When children read this book independently, they would answer to those questions and it would enhance their involvement as well as interests in this book.
- As an information book, this would help first graders to understand the concept of a pronoun. First graders are beginners of reading and writing. By learning pronouns, they would develop their reading as well as writing skills.
- Moreover, as this book includes many forms of pronouns, including possessive, demonstrative, indefinite, and interrogative. It would expand children's writing skills when teachers ask them to write short sentences with different types of pronouns, after children read this book independently.
- Because animals are main characters, children would enjoy reading this book. The animals teach pronouns by telling their own stories. By following their stories, children would understand pronouns. For example, when explaining a possessive pronoun, there are two mouses. One mouse takes a cooke away from the other mouse. Thus, the second mouse says, "this cookie is mine. it's not hers."
- The illustrations express very detailed parts of the text. For example, for the sentence, "demonstrative pronouns help pint something out", in the illustration, a mouse points a cake out.
- All pronouns are easily spotted due to the bright colors of their text. For example, "Aren't you glad you've discovered the helpful and practical pronoun?", in this sentence, "you, you, and pronoun" are bright colors on them.
- The author wrote other grammar books, as well. For instance, there are "what is a noun?, what is a verb?, what is an adjective?, and what is a preposition?"books. When children finish reading this book, teachers could recommend the other books to them. It would help children to expand their language skills.
- As this book focuses on teaching pronouns, it uses very simple and short sentences. Also, words, used in this book, are easy for young children. As children would easily read this book independently, they would enjoy reading this book as well as understand the meaning of pronouns.
- The order of sentences might be confusing for children. Some sentences begin on the top of pages, but end on the bottom of the pages. For example, "Personal pronouns stand in for a noun", this sentence is on the top of a page, however, "like Mrs. McKinley or Gradly" is on the bottom of the page.
- This book mostly asks questions to readers. For example, "with whom am I speaking?" "to whom would you like me to glue it?" When children read this book independently, they would answer to those questions and it would enhance their involvement as well as interests in this book.
May 8, 2015
Personal Reaction- I actually loved this book. I thought that it was fun and entertaining, with great pictures too. When I was reading it, I liked that pronouns were introduced in a way that didn’t make it feel too much like “learning”, they were introduced in a nonchalant, fun way.
Read aloud- I think that this is important to read aloud. Since the book is about pronouns, I would read it to the class after we had already had a lesson introducing pronouns to students. This would be the ultimate summary of pronouns and since it is a fun book, it would be a good way to wrap up the unit.
Independent Reading- I think that first graders or second graders would benefit from reading this book because the sentences are pretty simplistic. Overall, I think that this would be more beneficial if read aloud. If students were to pick this up and read on their own, before we had discussed pronouns, I think it might be somewhat confusing to them. On the other hand, it might give them an insight to pronouns and would stir up questions that require deeper thinking.
Literary Elements- I like that this book gives a definition of a pronoun in an interactive way. Also, the pronouns in the book are bolded and colored so students would be able to decipher the difference between pronouns and ordinary words.
Read aloud- I think that this is important to read aloud. Since the book is about pronouns, I would read it to the class after we had already had a lesson introducing pronouns to students. This would be the ultimate summary of pronouns and since it is a fun book, it would be a good way to wrap up the unit.
Independent Reading- I think that first graders or second graders would benefit from reading this book because the sentences are pretty simplistic. Overall, I think that this would be more beneficial if read aloud. If students were to pick this up and read on their own, before we had discussed pronouns, I think it might be somewhat confusing to them. On the other hand, it might give them an insight to pronouns and would stir up questions that require deeper thinking.
Literary Elements- I like that this book gives a definition of a pronoun in an interactive way. Also, the pronouns in the book are bolded and colored so students would be able to decipher the difference between pronouns and ordinary words.
May 4, 2015
Personal Reaction:
This is a fun book to introduce pronouns to students. The pictures are colorful and fun! There is a lot of rhyming so the book flows very nicely and makes it an easy and fun read. Great information that makes learning fun!
Purpose:
Read Aloud:
This is a book that I would definitely read when we start to study pronouns. I think it would be a wonderful introduction to pronouns, and it is memorable. Kids would also like this as a read aloud because it has silly pictures that will make them laugh.
Independent Read:
This isn't something that most students would read for enjoyment, it is more of a resource book about pronouns. Good book for students to refer to when doing ELA assignments or writing papers. Good book to keep in classroom for elementary grades 1-6.
Nonfiction Conventions:
All of the pronouns in every sentence in this book is printed in color, so they are easy for students to identify.
Author does a good job of addressing style and the purpose of pronouns by explaining that they help us avoid repetition.
This is a fun book to introduce pronouns to students. The pictures are colorful and fun! There is a lot of rhyming so the book flows very nicely and makes it an easy and fun read. Great information that makes learning fun!
Purpose:
Read Aloud:
This is a book that I would definitely read when we start to study pronouns. I think it would be a wonderful introduction to pronouns, and it is memorable. Kids would also like this as a read aloud because it has silly pictures that will make them laugh.
Independent Read:
This isn't something that most students would read for enjoyment, it is more of a resource book about pronouns. Good book for students to refer to when doing ELA assignments or writing papers. Good book to keep in classroom for elementary grades 1-6.
Nonfiction Conventions:
All of the pronouns in every sentence in this book is printed in color, so they are easy for students to identify.
Author does a good job of addressing style and the purpose of pronouns by explaining that they help us avoid repetition.
March 27, 2013
We really enjoy Brian P. Cleary's books. He makes learning fun, and this is a silly and humorous rhyming book about pronouns. His books really entertain children while teaching them basic concepts; our girls really like them. The illustrations by Brian Gable are cartoony and cute, too - we love the cats.
We've read several of the books in the Words are CATegorical series and we've really enjoyed them. We will certainly look for more books by this author/illustrator team at our local library.
We've read several of the books in the Words are CATegorical series and we've really enjoyed them. We will certainly look for more books by this author/illustrator team at our local library.
May 5, 2015
Personal Reaction:
I liked this book because it had good information about pronouns and the way it was presented was fun.
Purpose:
I would use this book as a read aloud when doing a lesson on pronouns. If the book is read all at once, the information would fly over the children's head, so I would break it down by the categories that are presented in the book, like pronouns, personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and interrogative pronouns. This book provides great information on each type of pronoun and how they are used in the sentence. The book can be left on the shelf so children can review the information that was presented in class.
I liked this book because it had good information about pronouns and the way it was presented was fun.
Purpose:
I would use this book as a read aloud when doing a lesson on pronouns. If the book is read all at once, the information would fly over the children's head, so I would break it down by the categories that are presented in the book, like pronouns, personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and interrogative pronouns. This book provides great information on each type of pronoun and how they are used in the sentence. The book can be left on the shelf so children can review the information that was presented in class.
April 11, 2012
I like how is states that the highlighted color pronoun depicts the corresponding pronoun that is being discussed. I like how the it relates the pronouns in the story. Great illustrations and very realistic and funny. Also, it restates the definition in the story which I think is very important when the studnets are focusing on learning a new thing. I like how it goes into detail about the different types of pronouns. This book would be great to ahve in a center focused on pronouns! Great book all around.
February 6, 2023
This book is full of information on pronouns. From he and she to it and we this book has it all. Even words that we forget about as being pronouns such as both or nobody are included in this fun adventure.
I love this book and the characters that bring it to life. The artwork is adorable and the rhymes are fun. This book is an amazing teaching tool that expands vocabulary and teaches writing rules while providing fun entertainment.
I think English classrooms would really benefit having this on hand to remind kids of writing pronouns properly.
I love this book and the characters that bring it to life. The artwork is adorable and the rhymes are fun. This book is an amazing teaching tool that expands vocabulary and teaches writing rules while providing fun entertainment.
I think English classrooms would really benefit having this on hand to remind kids of writing pronouns properly.
May 10, 2015
This book was fun to read and really helps understand what pronouns are, but sometimes where the words were scattered around, it would make it hard for beginning reading children or transitional readers. This book is more of a third grade book mainly because of the word placement. i would use this book as a read aloud, because this book really was enjoyable and since some of it might be confusing, me reading to them might help them understand since the teacher is there to help explain.
October 25, 2009
This book about pronouns is part of a series of books that explain the parts of speech for young learners. The book could also be valuable even for older learners who need a reminder of what a pronoun is and how it works. Different colored text identifies words that are pronouns. Wacky settings and illustrations make the book entertaining as well as educational.
September 28, 2013
This book is nice review of pronouns and practice in recognizing them. The end of the book goes into the more esoteric categorization of pronouns which seems unnecessary for a picture book aimed at younger kids - so I wished I had stopped reading halfway through when the concept of pronouns seemed clear.
June 23, 2015
This is a great book to teach students when to use I, you and who. The book does a great job with explaining this. I think that this book is great for students because many times they struggle with using words that tell who. This book could also be used when doing a lesson on this. Good book for teachers to use!
June 7, 2008
Good for explaining pronouns, but not as great as some of Cleary's other language books. The rhythm of the text is not always consistent and I didn't care for the illustrations, but it does accomplish what it sets out to do.
September 12, 2019
This is a short picture book that teachers the reader about pronouns. It uses examples that are shown through illustrations of animals in every day life. This is great for young students as it keeps them engaged through the content and pictures.
October 4, 2022
Was looking for a book helping Stella learn when to use I vs. you, and I think this was a bit too grammatically advanced for her (around 26 months). Looking forward to some of this series when she's bigger, though.
January 16, 2009
This book tells a story in rhyme, using different types of pronouns. After reading this book who can forget what pronouns are.
September 12, 2016
this really pins down for kids, what a pronoun is.
November 21, 2011
Excellent book for teaching pronouns. The book also asks several questions which could be extended into a review of the use of question marks vs. periods or exclamation points.
September 25, 2014
Introduce pronouns in all their glory to your young reader with this enjoyable picture book! Part of a series introducing Parts of Speech, entitled "Words are CATegorical".
Read
September 22, 2015great book
February 10, 2016
We read this book today with the class. We have been learning about pronouns and this was a great and funny book to show the kids what pronouns are and how they are used instead of nouns.
November 13, 2016
Love this series!!! Great way to reinforce parts of speech!
March 20, 2017
As with all the others in this series, I got these to share with my children as a fun and cute way to discuss language and have not been disappointed. They are cute and engaging for kids.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews