I loved The Looney Experiment! How much of Mr. Looney is based on an actual teacher? Or his teaching methods anyway? Or did you totally create him out of your imagination? Thanks!

Luke Reynolds Hi Christina! Thanks so much for your wonderful question. When I was in 5th grade, I had a true-to-life zany, inspired, inspiring, and radically different teacher named....Mr. Robert Looney. He encouraged my peers and I to tell stories and not just worry about spelling. He was interested in helping us see that our words, our voices, and our actions all matter. When I became a teacher myself, I often recalled the work Mr. Looney did with us, and when I began writing THE LOONEY EXPERIMENT (which was originally titled ATTICUS AND ME), I used the name of Mr. Looney more as a placeholder than anything else--to remind me of the kind of character I wanted to write.

Then, when the book was with the publisher in editing mode, I began to realize that the actual name had become such a deep part of the teacher;s character. So I wrote my 5th grade teacher and asked if he would mind if I used him name. His gracious reply was, "Not at all!"

We still communicate to this day, and both the real and the fictional Mr. Looney continue to inspire me.

In case you want to hear more, here is a brief video with some stories of the real and the fictional Mr. Looney: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFAPf...

Thanks for your question, Christina, and peace and courage your way!

Luke

flag

All answers from Luke Reynolds…

Luke Reynolds

39 followers

To ask Luke Reynolds a question, please sign up.

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more