Gooney Bird on the Map by Lois Lowry

that had once decorated Vermont, Florida, and Hawaii had been removed.
    Bruno was sprawled, snoring, a little north of Oregon and Washington. "Bruno's in Alaska," Tricia whispered to Nicholas.

    A thick orange electrical cord ran all the way from the slightly opened window of the school office, and was providing the power to an amplifier that looked like a black suitcase set against a snowbank. From the top of the amplifier, another cord stretched to a microphone that was standing beside the low mound of packed snow that the children had named Antarctica. Barry, Beanie, and Ben, wearing matching knitted ski hats, were behind the microphone, looking nervous.
    "Testing, testing," Barry said into the mike, following Mrs. Clancy's instructions. "One, two, three, four..."
    The microphone screeched, and the librarian adjusted the volume knob on the amplifier until the piercing screech disappeared. "All right," she said at last. "I think we're ready."
    Watertower Elementary School was very small. There was only one class for each grade, from kindergarten through sixth. All eighty-seven students were gathered in the playground, facing the large map, with Mrs. Pidgeon's class in the front of the crowd. The second-graders were wiggling with nervousness and excitement.
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    The principal, Mr. Leroy, went to the edge of the map and faced the audience.
    "I am
Da Man,
" he announced in a loud voice.
    "
U Da Man
!" the children all replied.
    "And I am delighted to present to you this amazing project created by the second grade." Mr. Leroy gestured to the map. He nodded to the second-graders, all except the three
B
s, who were still arranged behind the microphone. They moved forward, with Mrs. Pidgeon, as they had rehearsed, in a line and took their places, standing on the wide black rectangular border that marked their territory.
    "They have been studying United States geography, and now, before we all head off on our wonderful winter vacations, they are going to tell you some little-known facts about this country of ours. First, shall we all join together and sing 'This Land Is Your Land'?"
    Mr. Bornstein, the music teacher, came forward and began the song. The children all joined in. Even the kindergarten children knew the words. "This land is your land, this land is my land," they sang loudly.
    Mr. Leroy went back to his place in the audience, and Mrs. Pidgeon stepped forward. "I want to introduce our special trio," she said, and gestured toward the three
Bs.
"Barry, Beanie, and Ben are going to provide the sound effects—and perhaps you will all join in—as we tell you all little-known facts about some of the United States.
    "I'll go first. My state is Pennsylvania." Mrs. Pidgeon stepped onto the map and found the location of her state. She stood carefully on that spot. "Pennsylvania leads the whole country in the manufacture of pretzels and potato chips!" she announced loudly. Then she looked at the sound-effects trio and nodded.
    "CRUNCH!" Barry, Beanie, and Ben said into the microphone. They gestured to the audience, who joined in. "CRUNCH!" everyone shouted, and laughed.
    Keiko was next in line. She moved to the map, found her place in the exact center of the United States, stood there proudly, and tried to use her loudest voice. "I could have taken Kentucky, but we decided we'd each just do one state. So I chose Kansas," she said, "because it's where
The Wizard of Oz
was!"
    The schoolchildren all murmured and nodded. They all knew
The Wizard of Oz
    "And here's my little-known fact: Kansas has over fifty tornados every year!"
    Keiko looked over at the three
B
s. She nodded.
    Barry, Beanie, and Ben each took a deep breath. Then, all together, they made the sound of an approaching tornado. "WHOOSH!"
    The audience replied loudly: "WHOOSH!"
    Tricia went next. She made her way very carefully across the map, finding her place midway between Mrs. Pidgeon, who was standing in Pennsylvania, and Keiko, in Kansas, and then moving a