WORDS ALIVE: GRUMPY BIRD, UPDATED 9/4/2018, PAGE 1
GRUMPY BIRD
AUTHOR: JEREMY TANKARD
ILLUSTRATOR: JEREMY TANKARD
See a video of the book read aloud here: Grumpy Bird
** REMEMBER: HAVE FUN AND THE KIDS WILL TOO! **
OVERVIEW GRUMPY BIRD
ABOUT THE BOOK
Bird wakes up feeling grumpy. Too grumpy to play—too grumpy even to fly. “Looks like I’m
walking today,” says Bird. He walks past Sheep, who offers to keep him company. He walks past TOPICS & THEMES:
Rabbit, who also could use a walk. Raccoon, Beaver, and Fox join in, too. Before he knows it, a
• Friendship
little exercise and companionship help Bird shake hos bad mood. ([Link])
• Emotions
ABOUT THE AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR • Exercise
When Jeremy Tankard s daughter was three, she said, Draw grumpy things, Daddy. He drew her a
grumpy lion, a grumpy snake, a grumpy bear, a grumpy alarm clock, and, finally, a grumpy bird.
The bird looked SO grumpy, SO ridiculous and so CUTE that they both started to laugh. Jeremy Tips for every book!
recognized a story in this character and sat down to write it. That story became the Los Angeles
POWER PHRASES:
Times Favorite Book, Grumpy Bird, and more hilarious stories followed in Boo Hoo Bird, and
Hungry Bird. The beloved Bird series has become a bestseller in Jeremy’s native Canada and
I WONDER…
continues to soar. He lives in Vancouver with his wife and two children. ([Link])
I NOTICE…
THE READ ALOUD
TELL ME MORE…
BEFORE READING
Use these before reading the story to help students activate background knowledge and make
predictions:
• What do you think this book is about? DIGGING DEEPER:
• What do you think the bird is feeling? “Tell me more, why do
• I wonder why the bird is grumpy. What do you think? you think that?”
DURING THE STORY “How do you know
Use these while reading the story to help students interpret the action and content: that?
“Why do you think they
• (pp. 1-2) What do you notice about the expression on the bird’s face? Can you tell what
time of day it is?
feel like that?”
• (pp. 5-6) What clues let you know where the bird is in this picture?
“Interesting, did you
• (pp. 7-8) How can you tell that the bird is getting more and more grumpy?
• (pp. 13-14) How many animals are walking with Bird?
notice anything else?”
• (pp. 21-22) What did Bird do to get out of the grumpy mood?
• (pp. 25-26) What do you notice about the animal friends of the bird in this picture?
• Can the animals in the picture fly in real life?
• (pp. 27-28) What do you think the animals think about the snack bird has for them?
• How can you tell what time of day it is at the end of the story?
AFTER READING
Use these after reading the story to help students understand what they just read:
• Why was Bird grumpy? What makes you grumpy?
• Why did he decide to walk instead to fly?
• Why do you think the other animals followed Bird?
• What happened to Bird at the end of the story?
• Why was he no longer grumpy?
BRINGING THE BOOK TO LIFE!
• Ask the children to make grumpy faces and happy faces.
• Ask the children what makes them grumpy and what makes them feel happy.
• Sing the song, “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
• Ask the students to give a “thumbs-up” if they think Bird is still feeling grumpy.
EXTENSION ACTIVITY
• Make a “feelings” puppet [Link]
