multiple subjects, including speaker

Meghan McCain recently told Meredith Viera that she loves the cover of her children’s book because the painting is based off a real picture of “me and my dad.”

Does that prick your inner grammarian? It should. This is a case where grammar and etiquette join forces, dictating that whenever the speaker is one of multiple subjects, she should be last.

Meghan should’ve said the picture is of “my dad and me.”

But perhaps the new author of a children’s book is taking cues from all those Mercer Mayer books. “Just Me and My Dad.” “Just Me and My Mom.” And puppy and babysitter and cousin and little brother - they all played second fiddle to the egocentric hedgehog.

Mayer finally set it straight, presumably after receiving a deluge of complaints from concerned linguists (our favorite kind of people). The hedgehog books published in the ’80s and ’90s began with “Just Me and…” The books published in the 2000s have led with the other subject. “Just Grandpa and Me.” “Just Grandma and Me.” Those titles, admittedly, have a different sound to them — certainly not as childlike — but they provide a better example for kids who will model their speaking patterns off the books, kids like Meghan McCain.