Feet and Puppies, Thieves and Guppies: What Are Irregular Plurals?

By: Brian P. Cleary
Publisher: Milbrook Press
Publication Date: March 2012
ISBN: 978-0761349181
Reivewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: February 2012

If you are an English teacher or a parent who'd like an easy way to explain the way irregular plurals work, the CATegorical cats have once again stepped up to the plate with their zany antics and helpful hints. The cats in this book are ready, willing, and able to tell you that irregular plurals are the exception to the rule. When we form plurals we usually add an 's' or and 'es' to the end of a word, but what do you do if the word ends in an 'f-e?' The cats are quick to say: "If an f-e ends your word, / then swap f for a v in plural forms. / Take wives and knives and lives, / to name just three." You see?

There are several other tricky irregular plurals that simply don't follow the rules either. Take for example words ending with the letter or letters 'o,' 'us,' 'is,' or 'on.' And then there are some in which the plural is the same as the singular, those that need their vowels changed (tooth, teeth, man, men), and some that are just plain old unusual. "Others? Seems they had no rules / When the language folks devised 'em / Like child becoming children-- / We just have to memorize 'em!" The CATegorical cats will take you through the pages rhyming away until those irregular verbs are much easier to understand.

This book, targeted to the youngster between the ages of seven and eleven has an exciting visual and rhyming scheme that easily guides the reader. Irregular plural words are highlighted in bold colors for easy identification. The zany CATegorical cats are fun and their comical actions make the task of learning about irregular verbs much easier. This is one of many in the series, "Words are CATegorical," a very popular series with children of all learning levels.

Quill says: This is a vibrant, colorful book that will help even the most reluctant reader understand the concept of irregular verbs.