Owl Babies

by Martin Waddell, Patrick Benson (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

An adorable ode to familial love, told from the perspective of three baby owls. With an accessible story and rich, vivid illustrations, this is a much-loved and often-shared family favorite.

A tender tale to remind the youngest of children that Mommy always comes back.

"I want my mommy!" Three baby owls awake one night to find their mother gone, and they can’t help but wonder where she is. What is she doing? When will she be back? What scary things move all around them? Stunning illustrations from striking perspectives capture the anxious little owls as they worry. Not surprisingly, joyous flapping and dancing and bouncing greet the mother’s return, lending a celebratory tone to the ending of this comforting tale. Never has the plight of young ones who miss their mother been so simply told or so beautifully rendered.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763695194
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/12/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.30(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Martin Waddell is the acclaimed author of more than one hundred books for children. He received the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2004 and is a two-time winner of the Smarties Book Prize. He lives in Northern Ireland.

Patrick Benson is the illustrator of many beloved books for young readers, including Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and North by Nick Dowson. Patrick Benson lives in Scotland.

Editorial Reviews

This story will strike a familiar chord in every small child who has been afraid when left by [a] parent, and parents will perhaps gain a new understanding of how a small child might feel . . . A wonderful 'read to me' book for nap time, story time, or bedtime.
—Booklist

Benson's soft, wide-eyed birds—rendered in delicate pen strokes touched with gentle color that makes the dramatic, dark night seem appropriately awesome—are perfect stand-ins for wise little toddlers who also know Mom will turn up—but still can't help wondering.
—Kirkus Reviews

Enchanting…illustrations of the softly colored baby owls set against a black night will captivate preschool listeners.
—Modesto Bee

Featured in “50 of the Best Kids’ Books Published in the Last 25 Years”
—The Huffington Post

From the Publisher

Sarah, Percy, and Bill, three small owls who live in the forest, wake up one night to find their mother gone. Sarah and Percy, the older and "braver" siblings, try to reassure themselves and their baby brother, Bill, that Mother has only flown off in search of food and will soon return; but the dark and silent forest is frightening and lonely at night, and deep down the baby owls wonder if Mother will really come back. They huddle together, trying to be brave but imagining the worst. Finally, Mother reappears with a feast, and the youngsters greet her with enthusiastic relief. Waddell uses pared-down prose and simple sentences to convey the owl babies' growing sense of loneness and then their happy relief when Mother returns. This story will strike a familiar chord in every small child who has been afraid when left by his or her parent, and parents will perhaps gain a new understanding of how a small child might feel when he or she is left. The quiet of the night forest and the little owls' sense of smallness are imaginatively captured by the velvety, black-as-night background and the softly glowing, jewel-toned colors of Benson's woodcutlike illustrations. A wonderful "read to me" book for nap time, story time, or bedtime.

Emily Melton