Module 3 (Part 1): Owl Moon By Jane Yolen, Illustrated by John Schoenherr.

Citation:

 Yolen, J., & Schoenherr, J. (1987). Owl moon. New York: Penguin Group (USA).

Summary:

 A little girl finally gets to go owling with her father. To owl you have to be very careful not to announce your presence so the owls hide. This is a story about patience and hope. Evetenually the girl gets the reward of seeing an owl and goes back home happy.

My thoughts:

 While Owl Moon is a cute book about hope, I cannot help but to think that younger children would be bored listening to the story. The watercolor pictures, for which it won a Caldecott medal, are fantastic; however, the writing itself drags rather than excites. The children I know would want this book to be over faster.

Professional Review:

“A girl and her father go owling on a moonlit winter night near the farm where they live. Bundled tight in wool clothes, they trudge through snow ``whiter than the milk in a cereal bowl''; here and there, hidden in ink-blue shadows, a fox, raccoon, fieldmouse and deer watch them pass. An air of expectancy builds as Pa imitates the Great Horned Owl's call once without answer, then again. From out of the darkness ``an echo/ came threading its way/ through the trees.'' Schoenherr's watercolor washes depict a New England few readers see: the bold stare of a nocturnal owl, a bird's-eye view of a farmhouse. In harmony with the art, the melodious text brings to life an unusual countryside adventure. Ages 2-6.”

Children's Book Review: Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, Author, John Schoenherr, Illustrator Philomel Books. (1987, October 26). Retrieved from https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-399-21457-8

How to use this in a library:

 This book would be an excellent book to include in a “Make up your own story” program. Show the children only the pictures and have them, by themselves or as a group, create the story. Then read the book aloud and compare the two.