| Booktalk
#1
No one knows what to make of
Goonie Bird Greene. She's new in school and tells the teacher right
from the start that she wants to be in the middle of everything.
She tells them that she just moved to Watertower from China and has lots
of stories to tell. Like how they drove all the way from China.
Or how she arrived on a flying carpet. Or how her cat was consumed
by a cow. And, she assures them, everyone of her stories is absolutely
true.
Booktalk #2
Read page 1-3 (ending with
“and an oatmeal cookie.”)
And that was Mrs. Pidgeon’s 2nd grader’s introduction to Gooney Bird Greene.
So later when they are learning about stories it is no surprise that the
2nd graders want to hear a story about Gooney Bird. Gooney Bird promises
them an absolutely true story about herself. She tells the class
how she got her name. Her dad’s name is Gordon and her mom’s name
is Barbara, so they decided to name their baby girl with their initials
G and B. Unfortunately, they couldn’t agree on a name. Her
mother suggested Gail Beth and Georgina Babette. Her father suggested
Gwendolyn Belinda and Gazpacho Banana. They decided to wait until
she was born and after looking at her they were sure they could come up
with the perfect name. When their baby was born they both said that
she reminded them of a Gooney Bird that they had seen while on a trip.
Both of her parents liked Gooney Bird and it was a G and a B so that is
how their baby became Gooney Bird Greene.
That was just the first of the absolutely true stories. Other
stories include how she rode on a flying carpet, how she found Napoleon
and got diamond earrings from the prince, and how she was late to school
because she was directing an orchestra. To find out more about Gooney
Bird Greene and storytelling read Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry,
(Beth Lindsay, Lee County Library System, Estero, FL) 2005-2006
Sunshine State Young Reader’s List Grades 3-5 |
