Gooney Bird on the Map Read Online Free PDF Page A

lines, Mrs. Pidgeon? That true creative artists don't squinch their colors into outlines?"
    "And that's why our art is so good!" Tricia announced. All of the children looked proudly at the colorful paintings that were on the walls around the classroom. "When my mom came for a conference and saw our paintings, she said that our classroom was better than the Museum of Modern Art!"
    "It
is!
" Barry announced.
    "Yes, it is," Gooney Bird agreed. "But right now we need to make ocean. And it needs to be blue. Can we use our poster paint, Mrs. Pidgeon? If we mix up a bucket of blue paint and water, Mr. Furillo could use his big sweeping brush and we'd tell him he has to stay in the lines—"
    "Yeah, 'cause this isn't
art!
This is a
map!
" Malcolm said.
    "Yes, maps are scientific," Nicholas said. "Not creative art."
    "Right!" Chelsea said.
    "Let's do it!" Mrs. Pidgeon said. She went to the supply closet. "I'll mix up a bucket of paint, and if Mr. Furillo paints the ocean—Gooney Bird, could you go find him in the library and tell him we need him for one more little job?—it will probably freeze tonight. The weather forecast on the radio says it's going to be quite cold. So tomorrow we'll have a good solid ocean around our United States..."
    "Two oceans!" Malcolm pointed out.
    "An Atlantic!" said Tricia.
    "And a Pacific!" Chelsea added.
    "Oh, dear. I'm worried about something," Keiko said in her small, worried voice.
    Gooney Bird was about to leave the room. She turned back at the door. "What are you worried about, Keiko?" she asked. "Something I should mention to Mr. Furillo?"
    Keiko nodded. She looked embarrassed. "Bruno," she whispered. "I'm scared—"
    "Oh,
Sweet Thing
" Mrs. Pidgeon said. She set down the jar of blue paint and put her arm over Keiko's shoulder. "Bruno is the nicest dog in the world. You've never been nervous around him before. Remember, he marched in our Thanksgiving parade?"
    "And he wore fake antlers at our holiday party!" Chelsea reminded Keiko.
    "I'm not scared of Bruno," Keiko said. "I
like
Bruno!"
    "What's worrying you, then,
Sweet Thing?
" asked Mrs. Pidgeon, looking puzzled.
    "He peed on Antarctica," Keiko whispered. "I'm scared he'll ruin our ocean."
    "Yeah, I saw him do that," Ben said. "He peed about six gallons."
    "My dog's
little
" Barry said. "My dog only pees
one
gallon."
    "My triplets," Malcolm began, "pee—"
    Mrs. Pidgeon interrupted him. "Math problem! Subtraction!" she announced. "How many more gallons does Bruno—"
    "Five!" all the children said together. "That's too easy!"
    "Yes, it was, wasn't it?" Mrs. Pidgeon sighed. "But we do need to remember to do our math. We'll work on it while we get the ocean painted. Gooney Bird, could you mention the Bruno problem to Mr. Furillo?"
    "I'm on my way," Gooney Bird said. "Start mixing the paint." She saluted. "Oh, also, could I give Mr. Furillo a valentine heart?"
    Mrs. Pidgeon held out the bag and Gooney Bird reached in. "Perfect!" said Gooney Bird. "It says
Puppy Love
!" She hurried off to find the custodian.
    By the time school ended for the day, and the children were heading for the buses, Mr. Furillo had painted the oceans. Already the temperature was dropping, and the new pale blue had begun to freeze into a shiny crust around North America. Bruno had been told firmly that he must not approach the map. He could lie down on Antarctica if he wanted. He could pee on Antarctica if he wanted. But not on the United States. That included Hawaii.
    For homework, each child was taking home a rolled-up map of the United States. They were each to locate where they would be spending their February vacation.
    Malcolm was sulking. He said he didn't even want to take his map home. He said he might
burn
his map. He might let the triplets chew on it. He might make a huge paper airplane out of it. He might use it for origami and make an enormous cootie-catcher. He might...
    He was still grumbling loudly when he boarded his bus.
    Â 
    Gooney