Oola, the Owl Who Lost Her Hoot!

by Tim Bugbird Sarah Phillips

It's time for bed and little Oola turns to say goodnight to her mother. She's tired after playing in the forest all night and when she tries to hoot goodnight she can only manage a tiny 'wooo'. Her mother says she's so worn out she's lost her voice. Misunderstanding her mother, little Oola thinks she must have left her voice in the forest. Unable to sleep Oola goes in search of her voice!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic children’s storyline. Noah seemed to enjoy the imagery and the animal sounds.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually review a children's picture book. I will make an exception with this one. I figure I can do that after reading it aloud at least a dozen times.

Oola, a a baby owl, loses her hoot after hooting all night. After her mother tucks her in, she realizes that she can't sleep and must go and look for her hoot! For the first time, she flies in the daytime and her world looks so different! She marvels at the colors and the flowers. Along the way, she asks several animals, including a mouse, a grasshopper, a frog, and a duck, if they have seen her hoot. Of course, each animal answers in its own language and Oola tries to make a similar sound. In the end, another brown owl makes a hooting sound and tells Oola that she can use the hoot.
Oola then flies home to her mother who has just about lost her hoot from calling Oola. Oola then tells her not to worry, that she can use hers.

I absolutely loved making different sounds of the various animals as well as Oola's attempts at imitating them. (Think of "CHIRRUP" and "H...Hirrup!" or "Ribbit and H..Hribbit!") You get the idea.

I really enjoyed the colorful collage-type illustrations as well as the mixture of words of different font sizes as well as in boldface or words traveling in a swirl across the page. Great for bedtime story reading.

So, why did I read it so many times? Do you have a toddler in your life? I do. This one is two years old and had difficulty hearing and speaking due to several ear infections. She learned how to say "Hoot." It is a joy to hear her say the sounds that different animals make. You know I will read it again when she selects it from her shelf and tells me..."Hoot!"

[Wayne Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oola is a young owl who has spent a hard night playing. As the morning begins to dawn, she is tired, so she flies home and gets ready for bed. But when she goes to hoot, all that comes out is a whisper. Because she’s so worn out, Mama says, “You’ve lost your hoot.” Unable to sleep and misunderstanding what her mother means, Oola thinks that she must have left her voice in the forest and sneaks out to the woods, the pond, the streamside, and the meadow during the bright daylight to find her hoot. Can a mouse, a frog, a duck, and a grasshopper help her? What will she do? Does she ever locate her hoot?

This adorable and beautifully illustrated story for young children and beginning readers is not only a very cute book, but it is also educational too as each animal says its own sound and Oola tries to imitate it. One reviewer noted, “Tim Bugbird’s hide-and-seek narrative creates a patterned literary experience for young readers” and “Clare Fennell’s bright collage illustrations create a quirky young owlet and a forest that inspires the imagination.” My wife picked up Oola, the Owl Who Lost Her Hoot! as a birthday present for a three-year old friend of ours. For some reason, Sarah Phillips is occasionally identified as the author on a few websites.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tim Bugbird’s hide-and-seek narrative creates a patterned literary experience for young readers as we join Oola, the baby owl, in the quest for her lost hoot. Clare Fennel’s bright collage illustrations create a quirky young owlet and a forest that inspires the imagination. The clever use of different font sizes and text placement propels readers through the forest as we cheer for the sweet protagonist.

[Blake]

I volunteer at the local preschool a few times a month and every last Wednesday I read 2 books to the students. I was hesitant to read this book, but the kids really enjoyed Hooting like Oola and being interactive!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hoot of a good bedtime story.

[Alice Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet , simple story of an owl who "loses her hoot" and tries to find it again. Lovely idea, sweet illustrations the kids at the nursery I work at love it

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this one from the very first page! Oola Owl lost her hoot and she's determined to find it! Sneaking out of her tree, she asks the daylight animals and tries their sounds on for size but something's just not quite right. Will Oola find her hoot? Find out in this winning book, beautiful from cover to cover!

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful book about a young owl who lost her hoot after playing all night. She goes out to find it and learns an important lesson about sharing. The darling illustrations and cute writing make this ideal for reading out loud.

[Suzze Tiernan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for storytime (3 and 4 year olds). The kids loved it, they laughed as Oola heard the other animals noises, tried them herself and realized they definitely were not her lost hoot.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat collage of patterns and textures that were used to make the illustrations! A cute story and would be fun for children to learn about animals and their sounds.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated book, and a delightful story as Oola visits different animals in search of her hoot.

[Jenn Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An owl goes on a journey because she lost her hoot. I loved the illustrations. My daughter loved the adventure that the owl went on. Worth reading.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! I liked Oola as the main character and enjoyed her journey to find her hoot.