Gooney Bird Is So Absurd

By Lois Lowry; Middy Thomas (Illustrator)
(Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Hardcover, 9780547119670, 112pp.)

Publication Date: March 2009

Other Editions of This Title: Google eBook, Google eBook, Hardcover

Categories: Humorous Stories, School & Education, Social Issues - Death & Dying

Selected by Indie Booksellers for the Spring '09 Kids List

“Another poignantly funny look at Mrs. Pidgeon's second grade class. Each character's reaction to learning about poetry and writing their own poetry is quite amusing and also touching, especially when the students use it to reach out to Mrs. Pidgeon upon her mother's death.”

-- Janet Bibeau, Storybook Cove, Hanover, MA

Description

The fourth hilarious title in Lowis Lowry's popular Gooney Birdseries!

It’s a cold January at the Watertower Elementary School--the perfect weather for Gooney Bird Greene to break out her special brain-warming hat! It's a good thing she has one. Gooney Bird's brain will need to be as warm as possible this month, because Mrs. Pidgeon is teaching her class about poetry. Who knew there could be so many different ways to write a poem? Haikus, couplets, limericks—Mrs. Pidgeon’s students soon find that writing good poetry takes a lot of hard work and creative thinking. Gooney Bird and her classmates are up to the challenge. But just when things are going well, the kids get some terrible news. Gooney Bird will need all the inspiration her brain can muster to organize the most important poem the class has ever written.

About the Author

Middy Thomas is a native Mainer. She loves all forms of art and works in all mediums, from painting to printing to sculpture. Ms. Thomas also teaches two art classes a week in her studio.

Praise For Gooney Bird Is So Absurd…

"The story unfolds with fresh humor that keeps readers interested. Thomas’s pencil drawings bring life to the characters. A fine selection for beginning chapter-book readers and as a read-aloud."--School Library Journal

"Thomas’s illustrations help the new reader see the final “poem” and imagine Mrs. Pidgeon’s reaction to their heartfelt offering of sadness for their teacher. Few books for early readers address such a difficult issue, but Lowry’s capable storytelling does it with grace—much like Mrs. Pidgeon herself."--Horn Book

"Few beginning chapter books have the range of this one, from hilarity to sadness, from outrage to compassion, and few writers could manage it with such finesse. Often amusing and sometimes subtly instructive, the fourth book in the Gooney Bird Greene series is well suited to reading aloud."--Booklist

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