Gooney Bird Greene

Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry

I am my own worst patron. I can be a horrible judge of a book. I should learn to trust the author’s I adore more.

Lois Lowry is one of my favorite writers. I praise her primarily for The Giver. Whereas Alice in Wonderland is my chosen favorite classic book of all time, The Giver is the work of fiction that has most influenced me. And I read it as an adult. The Giver is that archetype by which all other works of dystopian literature are measured for me. And, of course, you all ought to read it. And read it again. And its companion novels, Gathering Blue and Messenger.

But Lowry is a prolific author. She has written historical fiction, contemporary realistic fiction, fantasy and more. She has written for the beginning chapter book reader as well as the teenager. She has written for the voracious reader, but also for the reluctant reader. And she has won the awards to guarantee that her contributions to juvenile literature will be remembered. Without my help.

A decade ago, she published Gooney Bird Greene and I was a ghastly snob. I’m not joking. I looked down my nose. Why would she be joining the ranks of writers that gave us Junie, Judy, Mallory, and Elisa. You know the ones… I’ve been reviewing them. They fulfill a need, most certainly, but can be soooooo boring – been there. Done that. I want magic!

I disliked the cover. I disliked the title. I don’t even remembering reading the jacket. It wasn’t The Giver and I was pouty. I hope you never see me when I’m like that. I’m truly pathetic.

Well, it was nominated for the Monarch Award and that is why I finally stooped to pick it up. Because the premise was entirely new to me, that is why I don’t think I ever read the jacket summary. From the cover: “…author Lois Lowry introduces young readers to the concepts and elements of storytelling. By demonstrating some of the simple techniques that writers use to reveal the extraordinary in everyday events, this book is sure to encourage the storyteller in everyone.” Someone tell me, how I missed that!!

Here is a character who likes to be “right smack in the middle of the room, because [she likes] to be right smack in the middle of everything.” But she is the kind of character who is in the middle of the action for all of the right reasons rather than for all the wrong ones. She is an exemplary role-model for her classmates as well as for her teacher. And when she says she only tells “absolutely true” stories, you can believe her no matter how far-fetched they sound. She really did ride on a flying carpet from China.

This is a series that I am confident I will return to. In 88 pages, I watched the second-grade classroom grow incrementally and I am very curious how they will continue to blossom. For example, there is one girl who never speaks and never even looks up from her desk. I want to know why. There is a story there and I am certain we will hear it as all of the children begin to tell their own stories based upon Gooney Bird’s splendid example!

I left the book out by my computer. My very own second grader was inquisitive. She has commandeered my copy without so much as a nudge from me. Perhaps the cover didn’t catch this adult, but it grabbed its intended audience.

Ms. Lowry must have forgiven me… Son has been published! Making The Giver a quartet! Whew, she still loves me. Get in line!

(For the record. I was equally snobbish about Harry Potter. I am my own worst enemy.)