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Review: The Mixed-Up Owl

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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. 

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