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Gooney Bird Greene #4
Gooney Bird Is So Absurd
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.
105 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
30 people are currently reading
284 people want to read
About the author
Lois Lowry
144 books22.9k followersTaken from Lowry's website:
"I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination.
Because my father was a career military officer - an Army dentist - I lived all over the world. I was born in Hawaii, moved from there to New York, spent the years of World War II in my mother’s hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and from there went to Tokyo when I was eleven. High school was back in New York City, but by the time I went to college (Brown University in Rhode Island), my family was living in Washington, D.C.
I married young. I had just turned nineteen - just finished my sophomore year in college - when I married a Naval officer and continued the odyssey that military life requires. California. Connecticut (a daughter born there). Florida (a son). South Carolina. Finally Cambridge, Massachusetts, when my husband left the service and entered Harvard Law School (another daughter; another son) and then to Maine - by now with four children under the age of five in tow. My children grew up in Maine. So did I. I returned to college at the University of Southern Maine, got my degree, went to graduate school, and finally began to write professionally, the thing I had dreamed of doing since those childhood years when I had endlessly scribbled stories and poems in notebooks.
After my marriage ended in 1977, when I was forty, I settled into the life I have lived ever since. Today I am back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, living and writing in a house dominated by a very shaggy Tibetan Terrier named Bandit. For a change of scenery Martin and I spend time in Maine, where we have an old (it was built in 1768!) farmhouse on top of a hill. In Maine I garden, feed birds, entertain friends, and read...
My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, was a highly fictionalized retelling of the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture and era, tells the same story: that of the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings.
The Giver - and Gathering Blue, and the newest in the trilogy: Messenger - take place against the background of very different cultures and times. Though all three are broader in scope than my earlier books, they nonetheless speak to the same concern: the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.
My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane tore away a piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end conflict on this very fragile earth.
I am a grandmother now. For my own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another."
"I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination.
Because my father was a career military officer - an Army dentist - I lived all over the world. I was born in Hawaii, moved from there to New York, spent the years of World War II in my mother’s hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and from there went to Tokyo when I was eleven. High school was back in New York City, but by the time I went to college (Brown University in Rhode Island), my family was living in Washington, D.C.
I married young. I had just turned nineteen - just finished my sophomore year in college - when I married a Naval officer and continued the odyssey that military life requires. California. Connecticut (a daughter born there). Florida (a son). South Carolina. Finally Cambridge, Massachusetts, when my husband left the service and entered Harvard Law School (another daughter; another son) and then to Maine - by now with four children under the age of five in tow. My children grew up in Maine. So did I. I returned to college at the University of Southern Maine, got my degree, went to graduate school, and finally began to write professionally, the thing I had dreamed of doing since those childhood years when I had endlessly scribbled stories and poems in notebooks.
After my marriage ended in 1977, when I was forty, I settled into the life I have lived ever since. Today I am back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, living and writing in a house dominated by a very shaggy Tibetan Terrier named Bandit. For a change of scenery Martin and I spend time in Maine, where we have an old (it was built in 1768!) farmhouse on top of a hill. In Maine I garden, feed birds, entertain friends, and read...
My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, was a highly fictionalized retelling of the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture and era, tells the same story: that of the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings.
The Giver - and Gathering Blue, and the newest in the trilogy: Messenger - take place against the background of very different cultures and times. Though all three are broader in scope than my earlier books, they nonetheless speak to the same concern: the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.
My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane tore away a piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end conflict on this very fragile earth.
I am a grandmother now. For my own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
April 6, 2019
Same review for the three of these I read. Cute fantasy... I can't imagine very many teachers and certainly not entire classrooms that immediately fall in under the spell of such an eccentric child, even if she is so full of self-confidence. No nuance. Good to *use* in classrooms for creative writing.
Remember, when you get to the points at which they're relevant in the series: Narwhal. Mnemonic. And the enlightened realization that haikus, at least those in translation, do not have to be exactly 5/7/5.
Also be aware of iconographic characters like Tyrone who raps so easily, and Keiko whose immigrant parents own a grocery store... again, they're not negative stereotypes, but they're not nuanced, and I think second-graders are capable of a little more understanding than this series credits them.
Remember, when you get to the points at which they're relevant in the series: Narwhal. Mnemonic. And the enlightened realization that haikus, at least those in translation, do not have to be exactly 5/7/5.
Also be aware of iconographic characters like Tyrone who raps so easily, and Keiko whose immigrant parents own a grocery store... again, they're not negative stereotypes, but they're not nuanced, and I think second-graders are capable of a little more understanding than this series credits them.
February 19, 2024
I read this to my second grade daughter and it was great because in the book the kids are learning about poetry while she happened to be learning about poetry in school as well. So it lined up nicely. The only thing we didn’t like was that we felt like there were some inconsistencies from the first book to this book. I’m not sure how far apart they were written, (like Gooney Bird’s outfit she wore on the first day to school).
March 27, 2019
I got all teary at the end! Such a great series.
October 12, 2016
I loved this book, so good and charming.. :)
Kids were so sweet..
One star is missing because of Gooney Bird (most of the time she seemed to me like too old).. any way I still liked her and I am too keen to read the rest of books.
Kids were so sweet..
One star is missing because of Gooney Bird (most of the time she seemed to me like too old).. any way I still liked her and I am too keen to read the rest of books.
February 23, 2021
I read with my girls - 6th and 4th grade. It was great for teaching kid about poetry.
October 28, 2013
Such a cute book.
Reminded me a little of the Junie B. series, but better. The kid characters were still very precocious but not as obnoxious.
I liked how the story revolved around poetry. A sneaky little way of getting some education into an interesting story that young kids would like.
Reminded me a little of the Junie B. series, but better. The kid characters were still very precocious but not as obnoxious.
I liked how the story revolved around poetry. A sneaky little way of getting some education into an interesting story that young kids would like.
June 3, 2016
I'm starting to struggle with Gonney Bird. Is she really in 2nd grade? Would a 2nd grader really be deferred to by the teacher as it seems happens in this classroom?
December 30, 2022
Gooney Bird is so Absurd is a great book about young Gooney Bird Greene and how she doesn’t exactly fit into her classmate’s idea of what a kid should be like. It is a great book to teach about new words. The main focus of learning it implements is that of poems like what a couplet or a limerick is and why they matter in poetry. It also discusses issues children might have and be trying to comprehend like that of new siblings, different cultures, and various friendships. This book also goes over confusing grammatical word usage and how to properly pronounce certain phrases. Poetry is the medium used to discuss bigger issues from the story which makes it unique and interesting.
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May 5, 2020This is - as far as I could remember - the first Lois Lowery book I have read and I loved it! I thoroughly enjoyed her style of writing. This story in particular is quite entertaining and enjoyable. It could definitely be a good read for the class, being the story counts of Gooney Bird's class to work together!
February 23, 2021
My kids really enjoyed this one too; we listened to all of the first four books together on audiobook. In this one, they learn a lot about types of poetry.
There’s a bit of the stereotyping from the last book in this one too, but Gooney Bird sticks up for her classmates when the substitute teacher does it.
There’s a bit of the stereotyping from the last book in this one too, but Gooney Bird sticks up for her classmates when the substitute teacher does it.
December 2, 2018
Sweet book about a class of interesting characters as they learn to write poetry. Very heartwarming ending.
May 30, 2019
It was a quick fun read but also touching at the end. A fun way to introduce poetry into the classroom. I just wouldn’t want the brain warming hats to catch on with my own students.
July 16, 2019
Haiku review #39
Wintertime. Snow falls.
Gooney and friends learn haiku.
Also? Limericks.
Wintertime. Snow falls.
Gooney and friends learn haiku.
Also? Limericks.
July 16, 2019
This is my favorite Gooney Bird so far. The class learns about poetry and death, and there's even an extremely rude, hurtful adult in the mix.
October 29, 2019
Fun story that also teaches kids about poetry
February 8, 2020
Kids still really enjoying this series and I find it ok. Like the vocab and hints into storytelling. And I am enjoy the celebration of eccentricity.
November 28, 2020
My daughter loved it. Delves into poetry as an underlying theme, but approachable for a second grader. Tear-jerker ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2021
Fun! Gooney Bird at it again!
June 22, 2022
I really like this Series of Gooney Bird Greene.
I really like the way Gooney Bird dresses and they are all unique!! I like love this series so much!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I really like the way Gooney Bird dresses and they are all unique!! I like love this series so much!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
April 21, 2023
This was my 5 year olds favorite. We ended up making up several poems together inspired by the book. The two POC characters are pretty stereotypical (the Black kid always raps, eesh).
October 9, 2023
My 6yo says 5 stars and I give it 4, so at 4.5 we rounded up!
May 20, 2024
Kids love these books
July 13, 2017
postponed due to my son's temper tantrum of ripping up this library book.
September 12, 2022
Book #9 in my Summer of Lois Lowry series.
April 20, 2011
I really enjoyed reading this story. I liked how in the book it was teaching the students about writing poetry and all the different types of poetry there are. This really hit home because I love writing poetry and have always enjoyed finding new and fun ways to write them.
Summary: Gooney Bird is a young girl that likes to be different. She wears a special brain-warming hat so that her brain will be warm for what they will learn the next month, poetry. She never knew that there could be so many different kinds of poems that people could write. Just as everything is going good, the students get some bad news. Gooney Bird is going to need all the inspiration for her brain to get things organized for the students to write one of the most important poems anyone will ever write.
I would use this book in my classroom to teach students about different poems. Saying that there are many ways to write a poem and going over them as well. (Haikus, couplets, limericks just to name a few). I would have students write the poems and then decorate them as they felt necessary as well as display them to the class. Another thing I would do is have students write the poems and then keep a poem book with all of their work.
http://www.poetryteachers.com/
http://www.readwritethink.org/classro...
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/art...
http://www.english-grammar-revolution...
http://www.kathimitchell.com/poemtype...
Summary: Gooney Bird is a young girl that likes to be different. She wears a special brain-warming hat so that her brain will be warm for what they will learn the next month, poetry. She never knew that there could be so many different kinds of poems that people could write. Just as everything is going good, the students get some bad news. Gooney Bird is going to need all the inspiration for her brain to get things organized for the students to write one of the most important poems anyone will ever write.
I would use this book in my classroom to teach students about different poems. Saying that there are many ways to write a poem and going over them as well. (Haikus, couplets, limericks just to name a few). I would have students write the poems and then decorate them as they felt necessary as well as display them to the class. Another thing I would do is have students write the poems and then keep a poem book with all of their work.
http://www.poetryteachers.com/
http://www.readwritethink.org/classro...
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/art...
http://www.english-grammar-revolution...
http://www.kathimitchell.com/poemtype...
April 14, 2009
Poetry does not seem as popular as it once was in schools. For that matter, creative writing in most forms does not exist like it did in the days before high stakes testing. Enter Lois Lowry and Gooney Bird Is So Absurd.
Lowry has written a gem that is multi-faceted and should be required reading for all those who plan on spending time in an elementary school. Not only does Lowry create memorable characters, but she consistently creates characters that reflect an innate love for learning. Mrs. Pigeon, the teacher of Goony Bird’s second grade class reflects the qualities of a master teacher that integrates the curriculum with life, and does so with great sensitivity and respect. Only a Mrs. Pigeon could make poetry so enjoyable for her kids.
Teachers like Mrs. Pigeon also inspire learners beyond the formal setting. The second grade class understands that and delivers a memorable multi-voiced performance as a tribute to Mrs. Pigeon’s mother who had served as an example for many of their poetry forms.
Poetry needs creative teachers who embrace poetry for the sake of poetry and know that everyone has the heart of a poet. Add this book to the classroom collection, but better yet, read it aloud to your class and enjoy the lines of poetry that will be created as a result. The book is that instructive.
6 out of 5 – It’s that good
John Parker
Media Coordinator
Andrews High School
Andrews, NC 28901
www.slamguy.wordpress.com
Lowry has written a gem that is multi-faceted and should be required reading for all those who plan on spending time in an elementary school. Not only does Lowry create memorable characters, but she consistently creates characters that reflect an innate love for learning. Mrs. Pigeon, the teacher of Goony Bird’s second grade class reflects the qualities of a master teacher that integrates the curriculum with life, and does so with great sensitivity and respect. Only a Mrs. Pigeon could make poetry so enjoyable for her kids.
Teachers like Mrs. Pigeon also inspire learners beyond the formal setting. The second grade class understands that and delivers a memorable multi-voiced performance as a tribute to Mrs. Pigeon’s mother who had served as an example for many of their poetry forms.
Poetry needs creative teachers who embrace poetry for the sake of poetry and know that everyone has the heart of a poet. Add this book to the classroom collection, but better yet, read it aloud to your class and enjoy the lines of poetry that will be created as a result. The book is that instructive.
6 out of 5 – It’s that good
John Parker
Media Coordinator
Andrews High School
Andrews, NC 28901
www.slamguy.wordpress.com
July 18, 2014
Genre: Realistic Fiction (Fiction)
Fountas and Pinnell Reading Level: (approximately Level P)
Summary: Gooney Bird is a smart, caring, second grade girl who loves to outfit herself in quirky finds from Goodwill. During the winter of second grade, Gooney Bird's teacher, Mrs. Pidgeon begins teaching the class poetry. The class learns the fun and beauty of poetry through Mrs. Pidgeon's couplet, haiku and limerick lessons. Winter turns out to be the perfect setting for this book as a sad moment near the end of the book leads to a picture-perfect poem orchestrated by Gooney Bird in dedication to her teacher.
Why I Liked/Disliked the Book: The ending is touching and beautiful. I don't want to give away too much, but you should know that despite all the funny and sweet moments, this book actually may make you cry.
What This Book Made Me Think About: How much fun can be had at school while kids learn. In Gooney Bird is So Absurd, Lois Lowry portrays an amazing teacher who brings out the love, caring and creativity in her students.
Fountas and Pinnell Reading Level: (approximately Level P)
Summary: Gooney Bird is a smart, caring, second grade girl who loves to outfit herself in quirky finds from Goodwill. During the winter of second grade, Gooney Bird's teacher, Mrs. Pidgeon begins teaching the class poetry. The class learns the fun and beauty of poetry through Mrs. Pidgeon's couplet, haiku and limerick lessons. Winter turns out to be the perfect setting for this book as a sad moment near the end of the book leads to a picture-perfect poem orchestrated by Gooney Bird in dedication to her teacher.
Why I Liked/Disliked the Book: The ending is touching and beautiful. I don't want to give away too much, but you should know that despite all the funny and sweet moments, this book actually may make you cry.
What This Book Made Me Think About: How much fun can be had at school while kids learn. In Gooney Bird is So Absurd, Lois Lowry portrays an amazing teacher who brings out the love, caring and creativity in her students.
March 5, 2009
My review as publised in March 2009 SLJ:
Gr 2–4—Gooney Bird Greene is back with her classmates for more fun. It's January, and the second grader has begun wearing a "two-ponytail hat" fashioned out of a pair of ruffled green underpants to keep her brain warm. Her outrageous behavior is endearing, and the support of her classmates is heartwarming. Throughout the winter the students of Mrs. Pidgeon's class think about poetry, and their teacher reminds them, "Poetry is not to be judged. You just savor it." She shares poems written by her own mother, Mrs. X. As the children learn the difference between haiku, limericks, and couplets, Mrs. Pidgeon is dealing with more personal issues. When her mother dies, the students, led by Gooney Bird, create the most memorable poem ever. 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.
Gr 2–4—Gooney Bird Greene is back with her classmates for more fun. It's January, and the second grader has begun wearing a "two-ponytail hat" fashioned out of a pair of ruffled green underpants to keep her brain warm. Her outrageous behavior is endearing, and the support of her classmates is heartwarming. Throughout the winter the students of Mrs. Pidgeon's class think about poetry, and their teacher reminds them, "Poetry is not to be judged. You just savor it." She shares poems written by her own mother, Mrs. X. As the children learn the difference between haiku, limericks, and couplets, Mrs. Pidgeon is dealing with more personal issues. When her mother dies, the students, led by Gooney Bird, create the most memorable poem ever. 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.
February 7, 2010
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 at A Year of Reading) can remind all teachers of the importance of differentiation. I want to be more like Mrs. Pidgeon, starting on Monday. And I definitely DON'T want to be like the substitute in this book.
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 at A Year of Reading) can remind all teachers of the importance of differentiation. I want to be more like Mrs. Pidgeon, starting on Monday. And I definitely DON'T want to be like the substitute in this book.
March 9, 2011
I liked this book. Gooney Bird is a little girl who dresses in strange outfits where you never know where she gets them. For instance one day it was one of the most creative outfits I've ever heard of. She was wearing gray sweatpants from the Gap, a white ruffle blouse from the Goodwill store, that she paid only .89 for, and she thinks that's quite a bargain. She is also wearing bunny slippers, under the bunny slippers she is wearing one red sock and one yellow sock. She is also wearing a leopard print vest over her ruffled blouse and she is wearing a paper Hawaiian lei that her parents brought from a Polynesian restaurant. She is also wearing fake pearl earrings. The second grade class is learning about poetry. Then Mrs. Pigeon's, their teacher, mother died. The mother was the class room mother.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews