Gooney Bird Greene

Title: Gooney Bird Greene
Author: Lois Lowry
Major Themes: 21st century, United States, Children’s Fiction, Storytelling for Children, Writing
Synopsis: Gooney Bird tells stories—and teaches second graders about how to write their own good stories.

Gooney Bird Greene is a book your young children will adore. At least, my brothers and I loved Gooney and her interesting ways. It was always a sad minute when we had to put the book away for the day.

Gooney Bird is a second grader and is someone like no one you’ve ever met before. She likes being in the middle of things, and she loves telling stories. When asked to tell a story, she replies,

“Good,” Gooney Bird said, “I will tell you an absolutely true story about me.”

And she does. Every single one of her stories are absolutely true, and when you realize how true they are, you’ll get a good laugh. She tells how she got her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, and about the prince, the palace, and the diamond earrings. And there are other stories as well—like how Gooney directed an orchestra. And each day, she wears a different outfit.

Throughout Gooney Bird Greene are sprinkled facts about what makes a book and how to tell a good story, in a way that even the very young will understand. I think the reason this book was so fun was because Gooney is so lively, and also because even though it’s written for children even adults will enjoy the stories. I believe children ages 5 – 9 will especially enjoy the story.

No warnings!