Barn owl

by Phyllis Flower, Cheryll Pape

Easy-to-read text and illustrations trace the life of a barn owl from his birth until he leaves the nest and finds a mate of his own.

62 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and simple text take you through the life of a barn owl from the day he hatches to adulthood and young of his own. This is such a lovely book, and so different from the books children take home to read in their book bags each day. Surely there's room for some good quality, informative and interesting books amongst endless books of little quality concerned with phonics or conflict resolution? I think it is so sad children in schools do not have access to books like this today.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book I bought for my son when he was in kindergarten. He is now 33 years old. The book enthralled him and his sister. He read it to her when she was little, she is 23 now. It is a book that is still on our shelves as neither one wants to give it away.

It holds special memories for them. They not only liked the book, but we needed a secret word, to let them know that the person I sent to get them from school was truly me speaking to them. The word my son chose was barn owl. And yes they both would not go unless the person or persons told them the secret word.

My daughter was attending a party when she was 21. It was a college party, and I wanted to know what time she would be home. She kept texting me instead of calling. I told her how did I know for sure it was her, she texted to me barn owl.

It is a lovely book for children and adults alike.

[Lmichelleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet story of a young barn owl growing up, fed and protected by it's mother, eventually to find it's own mate. Filled with knowledge of the habits and developmental stages of the barn owl, in the form of a lovely story.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: My son read aloud to me as his reader.

This is a beautiful story. We've had the book since ds was small and have read it to him many times and now he is able to read it himself. Told in a narrative, storytelling voice this tells the life cycle of a barn owl from birth until he mates and has young of his own. The story is told realistically without anthropomorphizing any of the animals; it is truly a nature story. We experience the owls' birth and then follow the strongest one as he grows in the nest, learns to fly, deals with a cat, meets man, learns to hunt, experiences winter and finally starts the cycle of nature over again by mating and having young of his own. Ms. Flower writes in a beautiful voice which is touching and heartwarming and the book has a strong pro-nature emphasis without being obtrusive. The illustrations are also very nice, especially of the adult owls. I'm surprised this one has been let go to out of print status as it is not dated at all and quite relevant and excellently written. Worth looking for!

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an older late 1970’s Weekly Reader selection that presents the life cycle of a barn owl from his egg until he chooses a mate and she accepts his gift of food. The book tells us they mate for life and we see the partner is preparing to sit on her own nest just as his mother did for him. We have had two types of owls in our back yard and I have always loved owls. Naturally I picked this up when I found it. The illustrator Cheryl Pape has prepared a very realistic set of illustrations.

[Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gift from Harper's grandmother