Gooney Bird Greene is the first of a series of children's novels

Children's literature

Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

 by Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry is an American author of children's literature. She began her career as a photographer and a freelance journalist during the early 1970s...

 concerning the storytelling abilities of a second-grade girl. It was illustrated by Middy Thomas.

Plot

Gooney Bird Greene has just transferred to Mrs. Pidgeon's second grade class in Watertower. She is unusually self-confident, likes to be the center of attention, has an eccentric flair for style, and an exciting, almost magical past. When Mrs. Pidgeon suggests storytelling lessons, instead of well-worn Christopher Columbus, the class demands Gooney Bird as the main character of the story.

So begins Gooney Bird's series of autobiographical tales, outlandish in theme but "only absolutely true": "How Gooney Bird Got Her Name","How Gooney Bird Came from China on a Flying Carpet", "The Prince, the Palace, and the Diamond Earrings", "Why Gooney Bird Was Late for School Because She Was Directing a Symphony Orchestra", and "Beloved Catman Is Consumed by a Cow". Along the way, the class learns not just about Gooney Bird, but how to tell a story, and how everyone has a story to tell.

External links

• Lowry's website
• Complete list of books by Lowry