The Mixed-Up Owl
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Owl wonders why everyone else in the forest sleeps at night in this thoughtful, refreshing, and sweetly-illustrated story about how we learn to know ourselves.
A splendid read for emerging readers, animal lovers, and fans of classics such as Winnie the Pooh, this book works both for bedtime and for budding lovers of adventure stories! Perfect for ages 4-8.
Owl wants to answer a question that’s making him feel mixed up: why can’t he fall asleep at night when all of the other animals in the forest are sleeping? Setting out on a quest to learn, Owl asks the squirrels, the rabbits, and even a bear! Alas, all the animals are asleep at night and too busy in the daytime to help Owl solve his problem. But Owl is determined to find out what’s up, and the answer might just surprise him . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An owl comes to embrace its nocturnal nature in this moody story that revolves around finding one's place. While other forest creatures sleep soundly at night, Owl lies awake, worrying why he can't slumber. During the day, Owl attempts to get answers from other critters; exhausted throughout the unsuccessful quest, the feathered subject accidentally falls asleep in another nest, a moment whose cascading effects lead to a barrage of criticisms from the woodland community. After the resultant cacophony rouses Hedgehog, Owl realizes that one can sleep when one is tired—and that the forest is just as awake at night. Sowa's narration aptly communicates Owl's genuine confusion but questionably amplifies the bird's isolating predicament via other animals' truly alienating commentary. Rendered in grayscale with pale spots of color, Lorho's pencil and paint artwork depicts the protagonist's plight sympathetically as he moves toward the calm that comes with self-awareness. Ages 4–8.
