Gooney Bird Greene is a wonderful addition to all second grade classrooms since it takes place in a second grade classroom. Many third grade classes appreciate this series as well. The main character, Gooney Bird Greene tells stories to the class. She has a clear beginning, middle, end in each story. She uses ‘suddenly’ in her stories. There are numerous teaching points for writing.
Gooney assures them, everyone of her stories is absolutely true. 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.
Gooney Bird Greene is precocious, but not unbelievable. She had a bit of that Pippi Longstocking thing going on. Sure, she was unusual and ahead of the class, but overall it made sense. Her adventures weren’t that unusual, it was her storytelling that made the adventures sound exciting. The Gooney Bird of the first book told a good story. (And in doing so, taught the class.)
Filed under: Favorite Picture Book, writing | Tagged: beginning middle and end, Gooney Bird Greene, Personal Narrative, staying on topic, writing, Writing Workshop | Leave a Comment »
