Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective?

Hairy,

scary,

Ordinary

ribably cool kids

sc de in o w t , ah n To Cal and Han —B.P.C. t ia, the first artis

as t as n A r he t o — J.P. To my grandm y il m fa in our

word A : e v i t c e j ad hing,

sat that describe being. g in v li r o , a e id

Hairy,

scary,

Ordinary

by Brian P. Cleary

illustrated by Jenya Prosmitsky

t C AROLRHODA B OO KS, I NC . / M INNEA POLIS

A

e r

a s e v i t c e dj

s d r o w e k li , y r i

ha

scary, cool, and ordinary.

They d es cribe,

like tan and ta l

l,

n y n , u F f r is ky, a nd , t o h o sm sma ll.

They tell us

things

are

orange

or

green,

Hot or cold

or

in-between,

Leaky,

squeaky, ancient, new, E asy ,

breezy, ,

n

b e l u k o e . r b

Adjectives help tell us more,

Like

narrow

street or

favorite

store,

c

h , illy y l l i , H fast, and fun,

U ndercoo k ed

and ov

e rd o

ne.

They tell us of an old black boot,

rainy day,

a wrinkled suit,

A

A silly

teacher,

giant

hair,

A large cow

at the local fair—

r

e

r a t a h t , r

e b

b u s r l l d a n b a k

d c

e i K

Spot's clean fur each time you scrub her,

Cold , dark mor nings,

hot pink

sh ades,

l s

r



i g

g n u o i Y n g

k

n i r d

lem onades.

s f

i

'

l

r r l e e o e

t b o t

y The fl at o r fiz zy,

And if your street

is quiet or busy,

Tha t t r e ats m u

y m e r y , a

sh ake s ar e thick, An d i f your

y

's calm m m u t o r s ick.

Th

e v

u a e m and p uce,

o r l

o f c u e l, l ik

r ' ey

h e y l e p explain , l ike h T

lean a

nd lo e ,

o s

Bagg , saggy , y

y

,

h

s c t r t e o n r t g s

,

Much

too short

or way too

long.

A

r a e w s

e o rds v i t c e dj

like

y h s

,

a lf

Vibrant, bright, and somewhat trashy,

Frilly,

silly,

polka-dotted,

ped -loo

Single

or

double-knotted.

like s

d

r o W

spunky,

r e h t ra clunky,

Pr i ce l

es s , nice,

or downr ight

junky,

Speedy, spoiled,

spiffy, spare,

T h rifty, ni fty, n d bare.

a e z n o r b

They

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

e t

d i c

, or gl x

e , y

b a ab

cr

d.

They

tell us

that

shows

are stupid or

funny,

O f books th

amaz in

,

at

, y ar e stuff u n p n r o y , g

Of

s k o lo

e r a t a th

f righten ing ,

dogs that ar e

stray,

a h t t

’s bla e

e f f o C c

k f O

in a cup

that is gray.

A

s v i

t e s u c

p h l

e

e dj w e b h i en r c s e d r e i

d,

t e r ' e w

Or say when we'r e grumpy, or when

we ar e

wired.

Without ’em we couldn’t

tell Mom

how

we feel,

Like hungry,

or hurting,

or r e ady to s quea l.

s i

e d e n

d o , d e d i s Lop ball game s t hat bore us,

The sweet, gentle sounds

that descend from the chorus,

Mighty

blue oceans and

t iny

red

rings,

A

t ell us s e

v

i t c e dj

of a l l of these th

ing

s.

so, what is an

adjective?

Do you know?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR BRIAN P. CLEARY is the author of several other picture books, including A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What Is a Noun?, It Looks a Lot Like Reindeer, and Jamaica Sandwich? He lives in Cleveland, Ohio. JENYA PROSMITSKY grew up and studied art in Chisinau, Moldova, and lives in Minneapolis. Her two cats, Henry and Freddy, were vital to her illustrations for this book and A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What Is a Noun? Copyright © 2000 by Carolrhoda Books, Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Carolrhoda Books, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

This book is available in two editions: Library binding by Carolrhoda Books, Inc., a division of Lerner Publishing Group Soft cover by First Avenue Editions, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group 241 First Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A. Website address: www.lernerbooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cleary, Brian P., 1959Hairy, scary, ordinary : what is an adjective? / Brian P. Cleary ; illustrated by Jenya Prosmitsky. p. cm. – (Words are categorical) Summary: Rhyming text and illustrations of comical cats present numerous examples of adjectives, from “hairy, scary, cool, and ordinary” to “tan and tall,” “funny, frisky, smooth, and small.” eISBN 1-57505-546-5 1. English language—Adjective—Juvenile literature. [1. English language— Adjective.] I. Prosmitsky, Jenya, 1974- ill. II. Title. III. Series: Cleary, Brian P., 1959- Words are categorical. PE1241.C57 1999 98-32132 428.2—dc21 Manufactured in the United States of America 5 6 7 8 9 10 - JR - 07 06 05 04 03 02