Skip to main content

Gooney Bird on the Map






Gooney Bird on the Map
by Lois Lowry
ill. by Middy Thomas
125 pages
intermediate chapter book
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011
The one-and-only Gooney Bird Greene is back with another idea! Gooney Bird is quite the individual. She is in second-grade and doesn't care what anyone else thinks about her wardrobe, her ideas or anything! She shows kids that it is okay to wear mismatched socks, to talk to the principal and to beat whatever you want for lunch. Her class is studying US geography right before February vacation time. There are three students in the class going to relatively exotic destinations and they can't help but brag to the class over and over and over again. Gooney Bird thinks up a plan to involve the whole class, in fact the whole school in a geography lesson they will not soon forget. She works her magic to tone down the boasters and make those staying at home feel good, all at the same time. She even teachers her class about observing "a moment of silence" to honor sad things. The Gooney Bird Greene series is a fun series for those just starting into chapter books. Lois Lowry is a wonderfully diverse author that reaches out to all age groups. My only complaint is that the teacher seems to allow free-spirited Gooney Bird a little too much control and influence in her classroom. This is a bit too unrealistic in most classroom settings.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Faker

Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...

Review: Fresh Start

Fresh Start By Gale Galligan New York: Graphix, 2025. Graphic novel. 270 pages. Ollie Herisson is only in 7th grade, but she has already lived all over the world. Her father is an American diplomat, whose job has taken their family to France, Singapore, Thailand (where her mom is from), and now to Chestnut Falls, Virginia. Ollie loves that her family doesn't stay in one place very long, it allows her to have a fresh start and hide from any embarrassing moments each time they move. But Ollie's parents have big news -- they've decided to buy a house in Virginia and put down roots. Now, Ollie and her younger sister Cat have to figure out how to build lasting friendships which means resolving conflict rather than running away when things get hard.  Loosely based on the author's own childhood experiences, this graphic novel is sure to be popular with readers who like coming of age stories. Watching Ollie learn to think of others as she advocates for her sister Cat, and navig...

Review: Will's Race for Home

  Willl's Race for Home  By Jewell Parker Rhodes Little Brown & Company, 2025. Fiction. 256 pages.    Will is a young man whose father and family are working the land as sharecroppers in Texas. When Will's father comes home with the news that there is land available in Oklahoma to those who can stake and settle it, Will's father expresses his deep desire to go and claim land for their family. Will begs to be included, but his mother is reluctant to let him go. After input from the entire family, they decide that Will is ready for the responsibility. Along the way Will and his father develop a deeper appreciation for each other, form deep friendship, discover hidden enemies, and encounter many challenges which force them to make difficult decisions. Will's father has to rely heavily on him, especially as they get closer to their final destination. Will's bravery is inspiring and commendable.  This book is full of many amazing elements: suspense, adventure, fr...