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Cover of Gooney Bird on the Map

Gooney Bird on the Map

by Lois Lowry

Book Details

Publisher:Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published:2011
Pages:139
Format:BOOK
Language:en

Reading Info

Age Range:6-10

About This Book

Gooney Bird Greene returns for another rollicking classroom adventure in this fifth installment of two-time Newbery Award Winner Lois Lowry's Gooney Bird series.

Our Review

This latest classroom adventure with the irrepressible Gooney Bird Greene brings geography to vibrant life through her trademark storytelling flair. When Gooney Bird's class learns about maps, she transforms the lesson into an interactive exploration of directions, landmarks, and spatial relationships that will have young readers seeing their own neighborhoods with new eyes. Lois Lowry masterfully weaves geographical concepts into the narrative through Gooney Bird's creative projects and classroom presentations, making concepts like cardinal directions and map symbols feel like discoveries rather than lessons.

What sets this elementary school story apart is how it balances educational content with genuine character development, as Gooney Bird helps her classmates navigate both the map assignment and their own social dynamics. Children who enjoy school stories with strong, quirky protagonists will find Gooney Bird's confidence and creativity particularly inspiring, while teachers and parents will appreciate how seamlessly spatial reasoning skills integrate into the plot. The result is a chapter book that makes learning feel like an adventure, leaving readers eager to chart their own explorations.

Themes

Juvenile Fiction

Subjects

Juvenile Fiction