Turns traditional grammar lessons on end! Read and reread this book aloud and delight in the sense―and nonsense―of words. What is a suffix? You'll find the answer inside this book―it's overflowing with wonderful suffixes. Brian P. Cleary's playful rhymes and Martin Goneau's humorous illustrations creatively present the concept of suffixes for young readers. For easy identification, key suffixes appear in color, and the comical cats reinforce each idea. The twenty-fifth entry in the Words Are CATegorical series once again pairs rhymed examples and explanations to cartoon scenes featuring well-caffeinated cats in a range of costumes and unnatural colors acting out the suggested meanings. As with previous books, it’s not a systematic survey but rather a quick skim—so quick that some common suffixes, such as -ism and -ology, are left out, and others that do appear (specifically -ward, -ation, and -ery) aren’t picked up in the closing summary chart. Cleary mentions root words but steers clear of more advanced topics such as parts of speech, contractions (which are covered elsewhere), or inflectional versus derivational suffixes. Vague as the guidelines sometimes are (“N-E-S-S often shows / a certain quality, / Like awkwardness / and happiness / and kindness, to name three”), younger readers, or older ones less familiar with the language, will come away with at least a sense of what these slippery lexical items look like and some of the purposes they serve. Grades 2-4. --John Peters Brian P. Cleary is an American humorist, poet, and author. He is best known for his books written for grade-school children that explore grammar, math and poetry in humorous ways. In his role in the digital division of American Greetings, he's put words in the mouths of Dolly Parton, Christina Aguilera, William Shatner, Meghan Trainor and more. The multi-million selling author has performed poetry workshops in 500 elementary schools across the county. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Martin Goneau has been working as a professional illustrator since 1997. Most of his work is dedicated to children's books and other educational publications. He lives in Trois-Rivières, Québec.