28 pages • 56 minutes read
Lois LowryGooney Bird Greene
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
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Character Analysis
Themes
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What Makes a Great Story
Gooney Bird Greene is a story about stories. It begins with Gooney Bird’s introduction to her new class and school as Mrs. Pidgeon teaches her class that all stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Mrs. Pidgeon’s lesson on “what makes good stories” (3) is paired with Gooney Bird’s arrival because Gooney turns out to be an expert storyteller, skilled in the art of turning her own lived experiences into entertaining and suspenseful narratives.
Mrs. Pidgeon urges her class to consider the element of characters, and how each story has at least one. Enthralled by her unique appearance and manner, they hope to hear a story about Gooney Bird, and so begins a week of storytelling in which Gooney Bird delights in being the center of her class’s attention. Gooney Bird’s stories contain several key elements that Mrs. Pidgeon or Gooney Bird points out, including suspense, mystery, imagery, cliffhangers, and an overarching theme. Mrs. Pidgeon, seeing how engaged the class is, compliments Gooney Bird on her storytelling abilities and encourages her to tell the class more. Even Malcolm, who previously was always tuned out from the lesson, begins to listen, comment, and question.
Gooney Bird teaches the class the art of storytelling by leading by example and answering their questions as best as she can. Mrs. Pidgeon foreshadows Gooney’s storytelling when Mrs. Pidgeon says, “There are many stories that don’t need a book” (3). Her stories always contain a twist or an element of surprise, and she loves to use wordplay and double meanings to confuse her audience and make them think harder about what they are hearing. Gooney’s stories are the right length, have enough detail to make them engaging, but keep her listeners’ attention with their brevity. Her classmates get bored only when Gooney Bird starts to describe the characters’ clothing, but she notices immediately and points out that there is no need to talk about the clothing of secondary characters. Gooney encourages her classmates to find their own stories to tell and to be imaginative and creative in doing so. She helps them discover that their own lives are filled with experiences worth sharing. Gooney Bird Greene also demonstrates how stories can bring people together, help empathy flourish, and bring out the best in those who are curious enough to hear them.
What Makes a Great Teacher
In the short time that the reader has to get to know Mrs. Pidgeon, it becomes clear that she is an excellent teacher, and that she, like all people, can learn from her students. Mrs. Pidgeon is not the only teacher in her class; Gooney Bird Greene also has a keen ability to hold attention and impart wisdom and information at the same time. As they observe and interact with Gooney Bird Greene, her classmates also start to teach one another, and it becomes a collaborative space in which they learn from one another.
Mrs. Pidgeon is a kind and empathetic teacher. She listens to her students, allows them to be themselves, and encourages them to think critically. When Barry wants to speak, Mrs. Pidgeon gives him the chance to do so, and when Malcolm mistakenly puts an origami star up his nose, Mrs. Pidgeon avoids scolding him. Gooney Bird is specific about where she wants to sit and how she wants to tell her stories, and Mrs. Pidgeon gives her the freedom to exert her autonomy. When asking her students questions, Mrs. Pidgeon never gives the full answer right away, instead providing clues and pieces of information to guide them toward the right answer. She does not lecture and is always excited to hear Gooney Bird’s next story. Mrs. Pidgeon is flexible and recognizes the needs of her class, and when she sees an opportunity for learning, she takes advantage of it. Gooney Bird’s bold nature and confident storytelling become a learning experience for everyone.
Gooney Bird is a fantastic teacher even though she is only seven years old. Like Mrs. Pidgeon, she has patience and allows the class to question and comment on whatever story she is telling. Gooney Bird sees when she is losing the attention of her peers and adjusts as needed. She tells stories filled with suspense and relatable elements that bring her classmates’ memories to life. Gooney Bird knows how to command the attention of the room without being rude and manages to remind her classmates of the need to listen carefully without condescending to them. With her skills, Gooney Bird can both teach and entertain her peers.
Mrs. Pidgeon’s second grade classroom is an environment made for learning, and she does not shy away from admitting when she doesn’t know something and needs to do some research. She removes the element of humiliation that often accompanies classroom learning and provides a space that is conducive to creativity and togetherness.
How to Transform Real Life Into Something Creative
Lois Lowry’s story about Gooney Bird Greene’s introduction to Watertower Elementary School centers around a celebration of unique identities and Gooney’s ability not only to turn her own experiences into a creative and entertaining story but also to inspire her classmates to do the same. Gooney Bird insists that all her stories are true, with no embellishments or fictional details added. She takes pride in her truthfulness, and in her honesty in general, because she believes that real life is interesting enough without the need to embellish. Each story Gooney Bird tells reveals more about who she is, what she values, and what led her to where she is today.
Gooney Bird’s stories have elements that make them unique to Gooney herself, but they also contain the characteristics Mrs. Pidgeon describes as essential to any great story. What makes Gooney’s stories unique is her ability to trick her audience by using homophones, words that may sound alike but are spelled differently and do not mean the same thing (such as prince/Prinns). Gooney also tells stories in way that allows for interruption, questions, and comments, all within reason. She guides her audience and fully includes them, inspiring them to empathize with her experiences and to consider their own related experiences. The classmates frequently interject to tell Gooney that they, too, know a black poodle or someone with pierced ears. Even Mrs. Pidgeon interrupts at one point because she’s as excited as her students at the prospect of connecting with Gooney Bird through storytelling.
When Gooney Bird is finished telling her stories, an entire week has passed. Compared to when she first came to class and appeared to be some sort of exotic stranger, she is now known and understood. The class is sad and disappointed to hear that Gooney has no more stories to share, but Gooney inspires them to start telling their own stories instead: “Out there, invisible, are a lot of stories not yet told” (84). She goes to each student and suggests how they might look back at their own lives, pick out an experience that was meaningful or humorous to them, and turn it into an entertaining narrative. Although Gooney Bird’s approach to teaching the art of storytelling is unconventional, it proves to be both effective and enjoyable for everyone involved. Even classmates who were once withdrawn and uninterested in the lesson feel inspired to speak and open up, and to think of themselves as someone worth talking about.
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By Lois Lowry
