Brief Factual Information:
Title: Gooney Bird Is So Absurd
Author and Illustrator: Lois Lowry
Publication Year: 2009
Title: Gooney Bird Is So Absurd
Author and Illustrator: Lois Lowry
Publication Year: 2009
Prompts: Series:
Plot Summary: Gooney Bird Greene is an eccentric second grader. In October she was the new student who showed up wearing pajamas and when this book begins in January and Gooney is still just as crazy. In Mrs. Pidgeon's second grade class they are writing poetry. Gooney Bird has on her "two pony tail" hat that warms her head for thinking, really it is underwear. The other kids in the class make fun of her but Gooney doesn't care. Each morning Mrs. Pidgeon starts class by reading a poem, that day she reads a poem by her mother. The kids are all excited by this because they know her as their room my Mrs. X. They read and write couplets, haikus, limericks, list poems, and multi voice poems. In the end all the kids end up wearing underwear on their heads to help them write better, just like Gooney. The book ends with Mrs. Pidgeon's mother dying due to old age but instead of it being sad the class bands together to film a poetry video in memory of Mrs. X. Plot Structure: This book has a climatic plot structure. Even though each chapter is about a different type of poem there is still the common storyline of the classes relationship with each other and the story about Mrs. Pidgeon's mother. Strong vocabulary: Some words in this text will be unfamiliar to students ages seven and eight so they will have to use context clues as well as adult help on these words; iguanas, Komodo dragon, frequently, astonished, pinafore, shrieked, patiently, desperate, anticipate, absurd, bargain, distaste, stiletto, buyer's remorse, chortling, glum, Haiku, mysterious, syllables, savor, enthusiastic, limerick, eureka, descent, agitated, fortunate, albatross, and hyperactive, | Character list and descriptions:
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Relationship of pictures to words: In this book there is only one picture per chapter. But that one picture in each chapter gets it's own page. These few pictures have a complementary relationship with the words because they help to enhance the story the words are telling by giving a visual. Themes/Central concepts:
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