Gooney Bird Greene (2002)

Gooney Bird Greene (2002) is the first of a series of children's novels by Lois Lowry 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, and has an eccentric flair for style, and an exciting, almost magical past. When Mrs. Pidgeon suggests storytelling lessons, the class demands, instead of well-worn Christopher Columbus, Gooney Bird as the main character of the story.

Reception

Reviews of Gooney Bird Greene were generally positive. Though Publishers Weekly viewed Gooney Bird's precocious storytelling skills with some skepticism, it wrote that her eccentric behavior and stories were entertaining, particularly to child readers. Kirkus Reviews praised the book's illustration and design choices, and described the titular second-grader's tales as "clever", noting that the book was a good instrument for teaching writing and storytelling.