THE MIXED-UP OWL

A spell of insomnia leaves an owl wakeful at the wrong time.

Sprawled untidily on a branch in Lorho’s appealingly misty illustrations, Owl gazes up at the moon and wonders if anyone else is awake—just as he does each night. As he explores, he finds the hushed forest “a total snooze fest”; all the squirrels and birds are catching some z’s. Owl wonders: Is everyone supposed to sleep at night? He eventually drifts off, and when the sun rises, he clumsily tries to ask the now-bustling creatures about their sleeping habits and gets reactions ranging from a curt brushoff to open hostility. Young readers likewise subject to untimely bouts of wakefulness will relate to poor, confused Owl and will perhaps take comfort from the way things eventually work out for him, thanks to a grumpy hedgehog. Come nighttime, the hedgehog leads Owl to a forest floor alive with busy mice, raccoons, and other small nocturnal creatures while delivering a version of an old Zen saying: “When I get hungry, I eat. When I’m bored, I like to play. When I’m tired, I go to sleep.” Anxieties allayed, Owl takes that advice, and when next the dark forest brightens, not even a feathered herald’s stentorian “Good morning!” causes owlish eyelids to twitch.

A soothing combination of timeless wisdom and atmospheric art.