Brian P. Cleary

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Brian P. Cleary, (born October 1, 1959, in Lakewood, Ohio) is an American humorist, poet, United States patent holder, inventor and author. The bow-tie wearing children's author is best known for his books that explore grammar in humorous ways written for grade-school children. He is Senior Editor, Digital Content at AmericanGreetings.com where he has written digital greetings performed by Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson, William Shatner and more. [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—one of the largest creative divisions in the world—where he is currently the Senior Editor working on product from greeting cards to songs, and electronic greetings. He also tours the U.S. and Europe as an author visiting schools and presenting to students and staff.

Writing[]

Cleary created the best-selling "Words are CATegorical" series for grade school readers, a 27-volume set with more than 3 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 3 million copies worldwide. His poetry has been anthologized alongside Jack Prelutsky, Kenn Nesbitt, and Lemony Snicket in a collection tilted "One Minute Till Bedtime."

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 27 titles, published from 1999 to 2015.[4] [5]

"Sounds Like Reading" Series[]

An 8-book series written for 1st graders and "English as second language" students, published in 2009.[6]

  • 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.[7]

  • 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)[8]
  • Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes: A Very Silly Alphabet Book (Millbrook Picture Books series)[9]
  • "Mrs. Riley Bought Five Itchy Aardvarks" and Other Painless Tricks for Memorizing Science Facts (Adventures in Memory series)[10]
  • Rainbow Soup: Adventures in Poetry[11]
  • The Laugh Stand: Adventures in Humor[12]
  • Rhyme & PUNishment: Adventures in Wordplay[13]
  • The Punctuation Station
  • Six Sheep Sip Thick Shakes: And Other Tricky Tongue Twisters"
  • The Sun Played Hide-and-Seek; A Personification Story"

Books for Adults[]

  • You Oughta Know by Now (Perseus 2010)
  • 100 Things Worse Than Divorce; A Fun Reminder That Things Aren't as Bad as They Could Be (Fab-u-List Series 2021)

References[]

  1. ^ "Author Uses Lowly Pun as a Base to Teach Kids" by Jim Nichols, Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 1, 1997 Archived July 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Author shows kids a GNU way to SEA words" by Jennifer A. Webb, Catholic Universe Bulletin, May 2, 1997 Archived October 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Barnes & Noble official site
  4. ^ "Words are CATegorical" publishers page[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ 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? -Ful and -Less, -Er and -Ness: What is a Suffix Madam and Nun and 1001: What is a Palindrome Pre- and Re- Mis and De-: What is a Prefix? A Bat Cannot Bat, a Stair Cannot Stare: More about Homonyms and Homophones Thumbtacks. Earwax, Lipstick, Dipstick: What is a Compound Word? Breezier, Cheesier, Newest and Bluest: What are Comparatives and Superlatives? Chips and Cheese and Nana’s Knees: What is Alliteration?
  6. ^ "Sounds Like Reading" series publishers page[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Math is CATegorical" series publishers page[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Lerner Books Carolrhoda Picture Books series official site Archived August 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Lerner Books Millbrook Picture Books series official site[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Lerner Books Adventures in Memory series official site[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Rainbow Soup official publisher page[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ The Laugh Stand official publisher's page[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ Rhyme & PUNishment official publisher page[permanent dead link]

External links[]

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