Gooney Bird is So Absurd

Gooney Bird Is So Absurd

by Lois Lowry

illustrated by Middy Thomas

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

Gooney Bird and her classmates are learning to write poetry. They write very short three or four-word poems, haikus, couplets, limericks, and list poems. We get to watch Gooney Bird help Barry revise his list poem. At the end of the book, the class is just about to start writing poems for two voices when their teacher's mother dies. Together they write a poem for MANY voices for their teacher.

This would make a great read aloud before or during a poetry writing unit.

Gooney Bird's teacher, Mrs. Pidgeon, (who is on our list of 100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature) can remind all teachers of the importance of differentiation. I want to be more like Mrs. Pidgeon, starting tomorrow. And I definitely DON'T want to be like the substitute in this book.