OWL BOY

Al loves owls.

With the passion of a zealot, Al makes decisions about his life based on the habits of his favorite bird. Call a friend? No, owls are solitary birds. Play outside? Not now: Owls are nocturnal. Meatloaf for dinner? Of course not! Owls eat mice. Summer camp is awful until Al gets lost on a hike and meets his favorite bird face to beak. Al explores all things owlish with his feathered host in an “owl extravaganza!” The bah-humbug boy is transformed in his joy, wearing a smile from ear to ear. That is, until he gets hungry. With a slight nod to Sendak, Al has journeyed to the wild and returns to his bedroom with a changed perspective. It is, however, the illustrations that take flight in this funny read-aloud. With strong black lines and simple images, shapes are repeated until Al’s entire room is covered with rectangular owl posters. A child with Al’s eccentric proclivities may count all the squares on each page or the circle-shaped eyes of all the birds and Al’s black glasses. With a cartoonish quality, the drawings confidently capture Al’s focus and obsession while sharing his joy.

An offbeat tale about following your dreams, no matter where they might lead (though older readers will note the cautionary tale of taking your passions a bit too far).