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Summary
Summary
From the moment Gooney Bird Greene arrives at Watertower Elementary School, her fellow second-graders are intrigued by her unique sense of style and her unusual lunches. So when story time arrives, the choice is unanimous: they want to hear about Gooney Bird Greene. And that suits her just fine, because, as it turns out, Gooney Bird has quite a few interesting and "absolutely true" stories to tell.
Through Gooney Bird and her tales, acclaimed author Lois Lowry introduces young readers to the concepts and elements of storytelling. By demonstrating some of the simple techniques that reveal the extraordinary in everyday events, this book will encourage the storyteller in everyone.
Author Notes
Lois Lowry (nee Lois Ann Hammersberg) was born on March 20, 1937, in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was educated at both Brown University and the University of Southern Maine. Before becoming an author, she worked as a photographer and a freelance journalist.
Her first book, A Summer to Die, was published in 1977. Since then she has written over 30 books for young adults including Gathering Blue, Messenger, the Anastasia Krupnik series, and Son. She has received numerous awards including: The New York Times Best Seller,the International Reading Association's Children's Literature Award, the American Library Association Notable Book Award Citation and two Newberry Medals for Number the Stars in 1990, and The Giver in 1993. She was also awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by Brown University in 2014.
The Giver is part of a Quartet of books; it is the first book, followed by Gathering Blue, messenger and Son. The Giver has been met with a diversity of reactions from schools in America, some of which have adopted it as a part of the mandatory curriculum, while others have prohibited the book's inclusion in classroom studies. It was also made into a feature film of the same name released in 2014. Lois Lowry also made the Hans Christian Andersen Awards 2016 finalists in the author category.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Second-grader Gooney Bird Greene is new to Watertower Elementary School. She tells fantastic stories, which are "always absolutely true." Her clothes are always unusual, ranging from pajamas with cowboy boots to a pink tutu over green stretch pants. In seven chapters, she captivates her classmates with her wild tales about "How Gooney Bird Came from China on a Flying Carpet" and "The Prince, the Palace, and the Diamond Earrings." She assumes the role of the teacher as she fields the class's questions about storytelling. The students learn that stories have main characters and secondary characters, and that using the word "suddenly" gets people's attention. In the last chapter, she takes off her props, an orange fur jacket and a cowhide purse, which she used to tell how her cat fell in love with a cow, and assures her peers that everyone has all sorts of stories to tell. While the "voice" of Gooney Bird is supposed to be that of a second grader, it sounds more like an adult talking through her. Most of the time, she sounds just like the teacher. The cleverly titled stories could spark children's interest in writing their own stories. This isn't one of Lowry's best, but it's a useful read-aloud.-Janet M. Bair, Trumbull Library, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
A feisty, friendly heroine tells her classmates "absolutely true" stories even though they seem anything but. "Youngsters will likely hope that Gooney Bird has enough tales to fill another volume," wrote PW. Ages 7-10. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) ""I like to be right smack in the middle of everything,"" Gooney Bird Greene informs her new teacher, and the self-possessed second grader wastes no time taking center stage in the classroom. As Mrs. Pidgeon's students learn the rules of what makes a good story, Gooney Bird captivates her classmates with tales of how she acquired her unusual name, traveled on a flying carpet, and directed a symphony orchestra. Printed in a large typeface, the stories she relates are not just entertaining, they are also ""absolutely true""-though that may be a matter of semantics. Questions from her classmates reveal that Gooney Bird ""directed"" the symphony by providing their bus with directions to the Town Hall. Her narrative about coming to the aid of the Prince actually concerns her neighbors, the Prinns. Writing for a younger audience than usual, Lowry displays a keen understanding of how second-gradeclassrooms operate-from the boy who puts an origami star up his nose (""Don't sniff, Malcolm. Do not sniff. That is an order,"" says Mrs. Pidgeon) to the constantly raised hands of those who want to contribute, however tangentially, to Gooney Bird's stories. Because the rest of the kids are depicted as being very ordinary in the text and the banal illustrations, Gooney Bird herself comes off as overdrawn in both appearance (wearing pajamas and tutus to class) and manner (""Mrs. Pidgeon, do you want to deal with this?"" she asks haughtily when a story is interrupted once too often). She's not always convincing as a character, but she's a fine storyteller, and her message to her classmates-that they, too, have stories to share-is a good one. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon's class announcing: "I'm your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything." Everything about her is unusual and mysterious-her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince's palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are "absolutely true." Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher's lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of "how a story is made" titles. Gooney Bird's stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children's fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)
Booklist Review
Gr. 2-5. Veteran author Lowry produces a laugh-out-loud chapter book with a lead character who could easily be the younger sister of Spinelli's Stargirl (2000). Gooney Bird appears in Mrs. Pidgeon's second-grade class one October, asking for a desk "right smack in the middle of the room" because she likes to be in the middle of everything. She dresses the part, too: it's pj's and cowboy boots that first day, green stretch pants, a polka-dot T-shirt, and a tutu the next. And she loves to tell stories, every bit of them "absolutely true," from the tale of how she got her name to how she got her diamond earrings (gumball prizes) from the prince. The tales themselves, about moving, pets, and neighbors, are multilayered. They not only amuse but also illustrate characteristics of good storytelling. Before she's done, our heroine has even found ways to elicit stories from her classmates, from silent Felicia Ann to twitchy Barry. Quite a debut. --GraceAnne A. DeCandido