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OWL AT HOME

Name: OWL AT HOME
Author: Arnold Lobel
ISBN: 0064440346

illustrated by Arnold Lobel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1975

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What seems at first to be the winter of Owl's discontent proves in the end, like all true melancholy, to have its sweet and ultimately contenting facets. Alone throughout, Owl invites "poor old winter" to come in and sit by the fire, but the "guest" behaves so wildly that Owl has to shut it out. Another night he makes tear-water tea by thinking of sad things (all subtly echoing his own loneliness); elsewhere he is driven to run madly upstairs and down in order to occupy both parts of his house at once, and in the end the moon accompanies him home from the other-wise unpopulated seashore. "'What a good round friend you are! said Owl. . . (and he) did not feel sad at all." Nor will readers, for to add to the solo cast would clearly shatter the poignant perfection of Owl alone.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1975

ISBN: 0064440346

Page Count: 68

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1975

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE TURNAROUND WIND
illustrated by Arnold Lobel

- BOOK REVIEW
THE RANDOM HOUSE BOOK OF MOTHER GOOSE
by Arnold Lobel

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ROSE IN MY GARDEN
by Arnold Lobel & illustrated by Anita Lobel

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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SPOOKY POOKIE

by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2015

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.

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One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.

It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)