Gooney Bird and the Room Mother (Gooney Bird Greene) - Hardcover

Lowry, Lois

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618532307 ISBN 13: 9780618532308

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2005

Synopsis

Gooney Bird Greene knows exactly where she likes to be: “right smack in the middle of everything.” Sure enough, her colorful fashion sense, exuberant personality, and “absolutely true” stories land her at the center of attention most of the time, but as Mrs. Pidgeon’s second grade class prepares for their Thanksgiving pageant, the lead role of Squanto is still up for grabs. And so is the role of Room Mother, but with each of the children’s parents already overloaded, there are no volunteers to bring cupcakes to their play. So Gooney Bird promises to find one—in exchange for the lead. There’s just one catch: the person she convinces to be Room Mother insists on remaining incognito. As the class struggles to decorate the mural, make costumes, and learn their songs for the play, the suspense builds: will the pageant be a success? And who is their mysterious Room Mother?

Two-time Newbery Award–winning author Lois Lowry has once again captured the eager energy of an elementary school classroom and the hilarious antics and anecdotes of its students, especially those of the irrepressible Gooney Bird Greene herself. In her second literary appearance, Gooney Bird is back with more “absolutely true” stories to tell, more tips for her fellow aspiring storytellers, and a few challenging vocabulary words to share, too.

About this title

About the Author

Lois Lowry is the author of more than forty books for children and young adults, including the New York Times bestselling Giver Quartet and popular Anastasia Krupnik series. She has received countless honors, among them the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Reader’s Medal, and the Mark Twain Award. She received Newbery Medals for two of her novels, Number the Stars and The Giver. Her first novel, A Summer to Die, was awarded the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award. Ms. Lowry lives in Maine.
www.loislowry.com 
Twitter @LoisLowryWriter

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3–Gooney Bird likes to be "right smack in the middle of everything" in Mrs. Pidgeon's second-grade class. The children are preparing for the Thanksgiving pageant (with Indians in feather headbands) and they are in desperate need of a room mother as all of the parents have refused. When Mrs. Pidgeon decides that the lead role of Squanto will go to the student who can come up with one, Gooney Bird comes to the rescue. She tells the class the story of how she convinced someone to take the job. The only catch is that this person wants to remain incognito until the big day. In Gooney Bird Greene (Houghton, 2002), Lowry used Gooney Bird's stories to introduce the different elements of storytelling. The focus in this sequel is the meaning of words. Whenever a difficult word such as "incognito" is introduced, the children are sent to their dictionaries to look it up. This technique flows well within the story, which is told mostly through dialogue. This is a fast-paced read, with Thomas's black-and-white drawings highlighting key moments. This sequel stands on its own, but readers may want to go back and learn how unique Gooney Bird Greene became a part of this classroom.–Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY
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About this edition

• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0618532307
• ISBN 13: 9780618532308
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 80
• Illustrator: Thomas Middy