Review: The Mixed-Up Owl

The Mixed-Up Owl
Written by Marzena Sowa
Illustrated by Joanna Lorno
New York : Hippo Park, 2025. Picture Book.

When Owl can't sleep at night, he heads off to see if any forest animals can help him understand why, and even more so, how to fix it! Unfortunately, all the animals Owl runs into at night are asleep and all the animals he meets during the day are too rude or too busy to answer him. Will Owl give up or will a chance meeting with a grumpy hedgehog provide all the solutions Owl was looking for?

The premise of an owl trying to stay awake during the day because all the other animals around him do is very fun. Kids who know that owls are nocturnal will get a kick out of Owl's confusion and be quick to try to tell him what's going on. Readers who don't know many facts about owls (or nocturnal animals in general) will get a brief introduction to the different ways animals sleep. The illustrations are charming, especially cute Owl and his expressive body language. A fun read for classrooms learning about owls, as a fun, silly read-aloud, or as a great bedtime story.

Comments

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...

Review: The Library in the Woods

The Library in the Woods Written by Calvin Alexander Ramsey Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie Minneapolis, MN : Carolrhoda Books, 2025. Picture Book. I am always intrigued by picture books that tell stories from the past in beautiful and meaningful ways, leaving the reader educated, and also hopeful and inspired. This book definitely did that for me! The cover is a beautiful peek into the story waiting on the pages. Junior and his family have lived on a farm that is having a hard time producing what it needs to for the family to survive economically. The parents make the hard decision to move away from the farm and into the city. Junior misses a lot of things about his life in the country. However, when Junior's friends tell him about a library in the woods, things change for him in the best way! He is amazed by the seemingly endless collection of books, and is eager to check some out for his family. Junior excitedly borrows a few books, including one about a farmer for his dad ...

Review: Tumblebaby

Tumblebaby Written by Adam Rex Illustrated by Audrey Helen Weber New York : Neal Porter Books/Holiday House, 2024. Picture book. I love a funky picture book. Slumbering Tumblebaby rolls out the door and into a wonderfully meandering yarn, thwarting scoundrels and coyotes, scaling unclimbable mountains, and even building a community center in Colorado City. Adam Rex's text reads like a folksy tall tale, punctuated by funny lines and rhyming chants. Weber's colorful, round illustrations feel a little Fauvist, a little cubist. It's a sort of "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" but in reverse - we learn in the last few pages that, in fact, that baby was YOU! This revelation made my young son gasp, which made me choke up. Tumblebaby is a surreal delight perfect for reading together.

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog