AlphaBest: The Zany, Zanier, Zaniest Book About Comparatives and Superlatives

K-Gr 2—This attempt to explain comparatives and superlatives is flawed. A cartoon character at a carnival commits a series of rude acts that range from sticking out his tongue to pelting people with eggs and ripping the heads off stuffed-animal prizes. He is pursued by a superhero of sorts who usually ends up as the victim of the villain's bad behavior. Things progress alphabetically, beginning with angry, angrier, and angriest and ending with zany, zanier, and zaniest. In between are questionable choices such as eggy, eggier, and eggiest and jumpy, jumpier, and jumpiest. Only one example is used where more and most are needed for the comparative and superlative. Whamond's frenetic ink and watercolor cartoon illustrations are also confusing. Aside from their distracting busyness, the comparative and superlative are not always distinctly differentiated. Paler and palest appear identical, as do quick, quicker, and quickest. As a teaching tool for exploring this concept, this book falls far short of the mark.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT