b'Book Report language mattersThe Evolution of and IsExplore Matters MagazinesAfter lifestory topics with these books toA yearBetween you and me introducingAndy BY KRISTEN DI GENNAROThe Gardener\'s Plot by Deborah J. Benoitshe\'sthrew Maggie Walker a few curveballs,attemptatso ago, a stu- spreadtomy,wouldexplain happytobebackinthesmallBerkshires town where she spent so much time as a child. Maggie has always loved gardening, so it\'s onlyor natural to sign on to help set up a community gar- dentemailedmeand Is. den. But when Maggie finds a body buried in a plotsomething like, DidAgrammarian on opening day, things turn topsy turvy. you get Andy and Isthese sentences in terms of the sub-paper? This was myject pronoun (in this case, I) versus Can I Recycle This? A kid\'s guide to better recycling andfirsttimeseeingtheobject pronoun (me) or possessive how to reduce single-use plastics form and Is, and I(my). As a linguist, Im trained to by Jennie Romer assumed it was just an idiosyncraticobserve, describe and attempt to ex-This book takes kids through every step offormalwriting.Sinceplain, not to judge and correct (unless the recycling process and gives them the an- then,however,Iveaskedtodoso.)Lin-seenitseveralmoreguists also like to point swers and resources they need to empowertimes. A colleague ofi? out that languages are evenearlyelementaryschoolchildren makesmarterchoicesaboutconsumptionmine confirmed shesforever changing, with and disposal, using ideas and examples theyseenittoo.Aquickindividual changes oc-can understand. internet search uncov- me? curringsoslowlythat ered comments aboutpeoplehardlynotice America\'s Most Iconic Ice Creams:and Is as far back asthemuntiltheyreal-classic flavors & creative riffs by Salt &2006, so it isnt evenmy? readywellunderway. Tyler Malek as new as I thought. The fact that and Is Known for his wildly inventive flavors,Its easy enough tohasbeenaroundyet Straws cofounder takes us on a deep dive intofigureoutwhattheundermyradarfor whatmakesteniconicflavorssuchbelovedstudent was asking, but why say itprobablymorethan20yearsillus-classics.Usingtheirsignature,supersimplethat way? I suspect its for the sametrates this point. So as much as I se-base recipes, he presents ultimate recipes forreason that some say, Thanks for in- cretly cringe each time I see and Is, Americas favorite flavors and shares 75 moreviting Andy and I to your party andIalsocelebratewitnessinglanguage recipes riffing off those classics. JustbetweenyouandI,phraseschange in (somewhat) real time.that probably go unnoticed by mostInterestingly, when I typed, Did Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson people. I hear and see variations ofyougetAndyandIspaper?into Madeline Hill and her mom have lived alone onthese and I usages on a daily basisMicrosoftWord,nosquigglyblue their farm in Tennessee since her dad left. One day(or as we say today, on the daily) byline appeared alerting me to check Reuben Hill pulls up in a PT Cruiser and announcesstudents as well as colleagues, jour- my grammar. I guess the grammar-shes his half-sister, and he wants Mad to join himnalists and public speakers.ians behind grammar check have al-for a road trip to find their father and half siblings. Such phrases are examples of whatready accepted this language change.linguists call hypercorrection. PeopleWhatexamplesoflanguage who say or write and I are avoid- changehaveyounoticed?Please Deep Water by Jamie Sumner ingconsciouslyornottheob- emailyourthoughtsorquestions In this powerful middle-grade novel in verse, Tullyject pronoun me, probably becauseonlanguagematterstoKristen Birchisdeterminedtobreaktherecordforthethey were taught to write Andy anddiGennaro,yourlocallinguistat youngest person to ever complete the famous 12- I instead of Me and Andy at thelanguagematters@mattersmagazine.mile"Godfatherswim"acrossLakeTahoeinthebeginningofasentence,asinMecom. hope that maybe her mom will come back. and Andy walked to school together.Kristen di Gennaro is an associate pro-AfterbeingtoldenoughtimesthatfessorofEnglishatPaceUniversity, Me and Andy is incorrect, peoplewhere she teaches courses in linguistics. Hilton Branch: 1688 Springfield Avenue then over-apply the rule to all casesShe lives in Maplewood and sometimes 973-762-1688 | maplewoodlibrary.org in which they would have used me,gathers language data during her com-including situations where me is themute on the train. To quote a poster grammatically correct form. The stig- in her office, Keep your mouth open ma attached to me has apparently linguists need data!18/ matters magazine / summer 2025'