Brian P. Cleary

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Brian P. Cleary, (born October 1, 1959, in Lakewood, Ohio) is an American humorist, poet, and author. He is best known for his books that explore grammar in humorous ways written for grade-school children.[1]

Education and career

One of nine children, Cleary graduated from Saint Ignatius High School, a private Roman Catholic Jesuit high school for young men in Cleveland, Ohio. He then graduated with a degree in Communications from John Carroll University in 1982, also located in Cleveland.[2]

Since 1982, he has worked for American Greetings Corporation, the world's largest publicly traded greeting card company, where he is currently the Senior Editor on the Humor Staff. He also tours the U.S. and Europe speaking at grade schools.

Writing

Cleary created the best-selling "Words are CATegorical" series for grade school readers, a 17-volume set with more than 2 million copies in print published by Lerner Publishing Group.[3] He has also written humor essays for national and local magazines and newspapers. His cartoon writings have been published in more than 600 newspapers worldwide. His books have sold more than 2 million copies worldwide.

Cleary's literary influences include Ogden Nash, Shel Silverstein, and E.E. Cummings.

Awards

Bibliography

All of Cleary's children's books have been published by Lerner Publishing Group and are written for grades K-6.

"Words are CATegorical" Series

Cleary's best-selling "Words are CATegorical" series include 20 titles, published from 1999 to 2012.[4]

  • Dearly, Nearly, Insincerely: What Is an Adverb?
  • Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective?
  • How Much Can a Bare Bear Bear?: What Are Homonyms and Homophones?
  • I and You and Don’t Forget Who: What Is a Pronoun?
  • A Lime, a Mime, a Pool of Slime: More about Nouns
  • Lazily, Crazily, Just a Bit Nasally: More about Adverbs
  • A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What Is a Noun?
  • Pitch and Throw, Grasp and Know: What Is a Synonym?
  • Quirky, Jerky, Extra Perky: More about Adjectives
  • Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp: More about Verbs
  • Stop and Go, Yes and No: What Is an Antonym?
  • To Root, to Toot, to Parachute: What Is a Verb?
  • Under, Over, By the Clover: What Is a Preposition?
  • Stroll and Walk, Babble and Talk: More about Synonyms
  • Straight and Curvy, Meek and Nervy: More about Antonyms
  • Skin Like Milk, Hair of Silk: What Are Similes and Metaphors?
  • But and For, Yet and Nor: What Is a Conjunction?
  • Cool! Whoa! Ah and Oh!: What Is an Interjection?
  • Feet and Puppies, Thieves and Guppies: What Are Irregular Plurals?
  • I'm and Won't, They're and Don't: What's a Contraction?

"Sounds Like Reading" Series

An 8-book series written for 1st graders and "English as second language" students, published in 2009.[5]

  • The Bug in the Jug Wants a Hug
  • Stop, Drop, and Flop in the Slop
  • The Nice Mice in the Rice
  • The Frail Snail on the Trail
  • The Thing on the Wing Can Sing
  • Whose Shoes Would You Choose?
  • The Peaches on the Beaches
  • The Clown in the Gown Drives the Car with the Star

"Math is CATegorical" Series

A 7-book series that introduces math concepts to 3rd graders.[6]

  • The Action of Subtraction
  • The Mission of Addition
  • How Long or How Wide? A Measuring Guide
  • On the Scale, A Weighty Tale
  • Windows, Rings, and Grapes: A Look at Different Shapes
  • A Fraction’s Goal: Parts of a Whole
  • A-B-A-B-A: A Book of Pattern Play

Other Lerner Book Titles

  • Eight Wild Nights: A Family Hanukkah Tale (Carolrhoda Picture Books series)[7]
  • Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes: A Very Silly Alphabet Book (Millbrook Picture Books series)[8]
  • "Mrs. Riley Bought Five Itchy Aardvarks" and Other Painless Tricks for Memorizing Science Facts (Adventures in Memory series)[9]
  • Rainbow Soup: Adventures in Poetry[10]
  • The Laugh Stand: Adventures in Humor[11]
  • Rhyme & PUNishment: Adventures in Wordplay[12]
  • The Punctuation Station
  • Six Sheep Sip Thick Shakes: And Other Tricky Tongue Twisters"

Books for Adults

  • You Oughta Know by Now (Perseus 2010)

References

  1. ↑ "Author Uses Lowly Pun as a Base to Teach Kids" by Jim Nichols, Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 1, 1997
  2. ↑ "Author shows kids a GNU way to SEA words" by Jennifer A. Webb, Catholic Universe Bulletin, May 2, 1997
  3. ↑ Barnes & Noble official site
  4. ↑ "Words are CATegorical" publishers page
  5. ↑ "Sounds Like Reading" series publishers page
  6. ↑ "Math is CATegorical" series publishers page
  7. ↑ Lerner Books Carolrhoda Picture Books series official site
  8. ↑ Lerner Books Millbrook Picture Books series official site
  9. ↑ Lerner Books Adventures in Memory series official site
  10. ↑ Rainbow Soup official publisher page
  11. ↑ The Laugh Stand official publisher's page
  12. ↑ Rhyme & PUNishment official publisher page

External links

Authority control
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