Gooney Bird and All Her Charms

January 1, 2014

Gr 2-4-Gooney Bird and her second-grade classmates are studying the human body. The students are in for a surprise when her uncle, Dr. Walter Oglethorpe, an anatomy professor, loans them a skeleton to help them with their research. They use it as an opportunity to teach the whole school about the human body as they label where different parts would be, such as the brain, muscles, digestive system, etc. The skeleton, on display outside the school to show the location of the respiratory system, goes missing, and Gooney Bird becomes head detective, leading her class on an investigation to solve the mystery. The youngsters are enthusiastic, outgoing, and funny. The running joke throughout the story is, "Mrs. Pidgeon's second grade finds this humerus." Readers will discover important facts about anatomy as they follow along with this remarkable class. Line drawings bring to life the unique scenarios the students create for the skeleton. A great choice for beginning chapter-book readers.-Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga Public Library System, OH

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2013
Gooney Bird is back for the sixth volume in this cleverly engaging series with a likable yet eccentric heroine at its center who happens to wear a "silver bracelet jingling with charms." March is the month when the children in Mrs. Pidgeon's class will learn about the human body. In her ever-helpful way, Gooney Bird arranges for her anatomy-professor uncle to lend the class a skeleton. After gasps, giggles, rapid-fire questions and lessons about the skeleton, the class decides to share their new visitor with the rest of the school, choosing appropriate places for each different part of the body. A lesson on the brain takes place in the library, the digestive system display is in the cafeteria, facts about muscles are shared in the gym, and the respiratory system is tested outside. The principal, teachers and kids enjoy these surprise lessons--except for one parent, who complains that the skeleton is inappropriate. When the skeleton goes missing, Gooney Bird swoops in to lead her class in an investigation of the mystery. As always, the story is full of spot-on dialogue that captures every enthusiastic remark or bashful comment added by these winning second graders. It combines with a compelling story structure that is not only highly readable, but entertainingly informative. Gooney Bird, ever charming, is still a winner for those graduating from beginning chapter books to longer fare. (Fiction. 7-10)

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July 1, 2014
In her sixth book, bossy but good-natured Gooney Bird Greene livens up the class human body unit with a real skeleton, on loan from her great-uncle, Dr. Oglethorpe. A parent's objection brings tension to the plot laden with amusingly precocious observations of second graders; ultimately, Gooney's charm bracelet helps the kids present their new anatomy knowledge. Simple line drawings illustrate the chapters.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2013
Grades 2-4 When Mrs. Pidgeon's second-grade class studies the human body, Gooney Bird arranges for her uncle to lend them Napoleon, the skeleton he uses as a professor teaching anatomy. Gooney Bird and her classmates find novel, amusing ways to involve the whole school in their learning experience, right up until Napoleon is stolen. His disappearance adds an unexpected element of mystery to the narrative, which conveys a certain amount of information along with a vibrant attitude toward learning, an appreciation for the children's varied personalities, and a wry sense of humor. Pencil drawings illustrate this appealing chapter book from the Gooney Bird series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)