Story Behind The Book
Media Links
Reviews
<p> For those who read "Learn Me Good," you know exactly what to expect from "Learn Me Gooder." If you liked the first book, you'll like this sequel. If not, the sequel isn't for you, either. Everyone else, read on.</p><p>I've been wondering lately if I'm losing my sense of humor, at least where books are concerned. I find plenty to laugh at in books from non-humor genres. Snappy, smart-ass dialogue and funny situations that are part of a bigger story still unleash the chuckles. But most of the books I've read where being funny was their main aim have fallen short. They've had funny parts. They've also had irritating, stupid, and even infuriating parts. "Learn Me Gooder" has convinced me it is still possible to make me laugh the whole way through and alleviated my concerns about that missing sense of humor.</p><p>The book is structured as a series of chronological emails from John Woodson, a fictional elementary teacher, to his former coworker, Fred Bommerson, who still works for Woodson's former employer. Each email has a subject line that is usually humorous, often a play on words that relates to the subject. One example is "That doesn't make any cents," as the subject for an email where Woodson tells Boomerson about trying to teach his class the relative values of US coins. Each email is "signed" with a name that follows the same pattern, "Seven Dollar Billy" for the last email and "Add' em Ant," for an email about teaching addition.</p><p>These added touches add to the funniness and give a hint of Pearson's sense of humor and wit, but the body of the emails is where the real fun lies. The situations described are, if not totally true, at least totally believable. Although drawn from Pearson's actual teaching experiences, "Learn Me Gooder" is fictionalized and, at times, the author takes literary license for a better story. Pearson combines school happenings with his inner dialogue, then stirs in comparisons to his former coworkers and comes up with comedy gold. Although each email is a discrete unit, like a small chapter, the book doesn't read like a series of emails. Pearson's students and even his former coworkers become like characters in a novel as we follow the students' progress through the year. Likewise, in references to Bommerson and his other ex-coworkers, Pearson integrates them into the story too. (Sometimes the adult world isn't that much different than elementary school.) If you have children, work with children, or have ever been a child, I think you'll find "Learn Me Gooder" just the thing to tickle your funny bone.</p><p>**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. ** </p>