• To See an Owl

To See an Owl

Publication Date
January 07, 2025
Genre / Grade Band
Fiction /  2nd − 3rd
To See an Owl

Description

An endearing story about a girl's efforts to spot an owl from the Caldecott Medal winning creator of Wolf in the Snow. This gorgeous picture book that encourages patience and perseverance will resonate with readers of all ages who have longed to see one of these elusive creatures in the natural world.

When will I find you?
Where could you be?
What will it take?
To see an owl.

Silent and wide-eyed, owls are hidden creatures of the night. Janie has always dreamed of finding one. She searches everywhere for signs of an owl - on the open prairie for short-eared owls, on the beach for snowy owls, and for great horned owls in the woods near her home. But months go by, and she sees no owls. She wonders, what will it take to see an owl?

Her teacher, Mr. Koji, a fellow bird-lover, shares that he, too, waited a long time to see an owl. He assures her, "If you are very quiet and very patient, and if you look very close, you might just find them."

When the snow begins to fall, Janie and her mother head into the woods again, and as she looks carefully, hidden high up in the trees, what she sees is pure magic.

From Matthew Cordell, the creator of Wolf in the Snow that was awarded the Caldecott Medal, comes this beautiful story about quiet perseverance that will resonate with anyone who has experienced the anticipation of discovering a rare treasure in the wild.

Publication date
January 07, 2025
Classification
Fiction
Page Count
40
ISBN-13
9780593649893
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Random House Studio
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV002040 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Birds
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV003000 - Juvenile Fiction | Art & Architecture
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Owls
Bird watching
Patience

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Young narrator Janie has long been fascinated by owls: "Perfectly stout. Large, round eyes. Silent, knowing faces. Birds of the night." In drawings filled with carefully hatched detail, Caldecott Medalist Cordell draws Janie busy on the floor, making drawing after drawing of owls; other vignettes show the child dressed in an owl costume and reading about the topic. But Janie has never seen a real owl. Not once. This year, though, teacher Mr. Koji, "a birder even when he was my age," is also interested in avian life. "To see an owl," he tells the class, "is magic." When Janie brings in "stacks and stacks of owl drawings," an owl journal, and a map, Mr. Koji shares a tip: "I found a pair of great horned owls roosting in this section of pine trees. They are very well hidden and very hard to find." Taut, suspense-heightening sentences combine with deliberate pacing as well as tender observations of earnest efforts and mentorship. Janie's early failures set the stage for a gratifying conclusion in this introduction to the magic of respectfully spotting creatures "that do not want to be seen." Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4-8. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary. (Jan.)

Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Kirkus

Starred Review

A title easily summed up in a single word: magic.

Matthew Cordell
Matthew Cordell is the author and illustrator of many celebrated picture books for children, including the Caldecott Medal winner Wolf in the Snow, Evergreen, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, Hello Neighbor!: The Kind and Caring World of Mr. Rogers, a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, and the Cornbread and Poppy series, which Booklist in a starred review has called "a rewarding choice for young readers." Matthew lives outside of Chicago with his wife, author Julie Halpern, and their two children.
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