🦄 The Case of the Missing Library Shelves 📚
A Story for National Absurdity Day
In the small town of Pleasantville lived a librarian named Mrs. Quibble. Mrs. Quibble was a very serious woman who loved rules, silence, and the precise organization of books.
One Tuesday morning—which, unbeknownst to anyone, was National Absurdity Day—Mrs. Quibble arrived at the Pleasantville Public Library.
She opened the front door, ready for the crisp, clean smell of old paper, but instead, she was met with a perplexing sight:
Every single bookshelf was gone.
Not just the books—the books were stacked neatly in piles on the floor, alphabetized, and completely calm. But the metal, wooden, sturdy shelves? Vanished.
Mrs. Quibble blinked. “Well,” she huffed, adjusting her spectacles. “This is highly irregular.”
A small, fluffy, brightly colored Polka-Dotted Pigeon flew in through the open window and landed on a stack of “A” books.
“Good morning, Mrs. Quibble!” the pigeon chirped, tipping its head.
“Pigeons do not talk,” Mrs. Quibble stated. “And this is a library, young bird. Silence, please.”
“Pigeons talk all the time on National Absurdity Day,” the pigeon replied, then pointed a tiny wing toward the ceiling. “The shelves are having a party.“
Mrs. Quibble looked up. Nothing.
“They decided they were tired of holding up heavy literature,” the pigeon explained. “They packed themselves into a big, metal square and are currently rolling around the town square like a giant, bookless chariot, singing show tunes.”
Mrs. Quibble felt a tiny, forbidden smile try to sneak onto her face. She quickly straightened it. “Shelves cannot move, and they certainly cannot sing ‘The Hills Are Alive’ in a public park.”
Just then, a small, very proper badger wearing a tiny bow tie trotted in. It carried a sign that read: “DUE DATE: NEVER.”
“Mrs. Quibble,” the badger said, in a deep, booming voice, “I regret to inform you that I have decided to check out all of the mystery novels. I’ll be reading them aloud in the fountain. Also, the card catalog is trying to make friends with the printer.”
Mrs. Quibble walked over to the stack of reference books and sighed. “Fine,” she said. “Today, apparently, the rules are: If it makes no sense, it’s correct.“
She picked up a very heavy encyclopedia, carried it over to the window, and shouted to the world:
“Go, singing shelves! Go, mystery-reading badger! Go, talking pigeon! I’m going to eat a sandwich made entirely of mustard and jelly!“
And on that day, in Pleasantville, everyone learned that sometimes, the silliest and most absurd thing is simply to let go of the rules and have a laugh.
📝 Classroom Discussion & Activity
Ask the Students:
- What was the most absurd part of the story? (The singing shelves? The talking pigeon? The mustard and jelly sandwich?)
- Why do you think Mrs. Quibble finally decided to join the absurdity? (She realized she couldn’t stop it; it looked like fun.)
- Absurdity means things that don’t make sense. Can you name three other absurd things that might happen in our classroom today? (A chair flies away, the whiteboard starts drawing pictures, etc.)
Creative Challenge (The Absurdity List):
- Teacher: Give students a few minutes to silently think of one absurd rule they would put in place for just one hour in the school.
- Examples: Everyone must wear their shoes on their hands; we can only talk in rhymes; pencils are only allowed to write backwards.
- Activity: Have each student share their absurd rule. Write the best ones on the board for a brief moment of structured, silly fun.
Download the PDF Lesson and Classroom Discussion.