School Library Journal Starred Review

PreS-Gr 3 Simple facts about the hunting and nesting habits of barn owls intertwine with the story of two humans who put a nesting box for them high in a tree. Narrated by a girl whose grandfather explains owl behavior as the two watch for avian visitors in the evenings, the story also contains insets of information bits. Well-chosen design elements move both fiction and fact along with clarity and ease, with different fonts clearly separating the two. Foreman's artwork includes lovely watercolor and pastel paintings of the birds in flight and peering from the nesting box. Appealing shades of blue suggest the night, and these scenes are paired with beige pages or panels carrying alternate text. Brief explanations of feathers and flight, the contents of owl pellets, and the hatching of eggs pair well with the child's realistic first encounter with the barn owls. This simpler introduction complements Tony Johnston's poetic The Barn Owls (Charlesbridge, 2000) and Sally Tagholm's more informative Barn Owl (Kingfisher, 2003), which is for a slightly older audience. This lovely title will be enjoyed widely for personal reading and teaching purposes. Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

ALA Booklist

As in her previous titles, such as Bat Loves the Night (2001), zoologist Davies pulls young kids into the animal world with an atmospheric story that is filled with facts. A young boy helps his grandfather build a box for a barn owl and install it in a nearby tree. Together they wait and watch, and after many evenings, they spot a barn owl flying into their homemade nest, carrying prey for its young. On each spread, fonts in different sizes guide children toward the facts: words in larger typeface tell the story; lines in a smaller font, which resembles handwriting, imparts simple facts about owls' pellets, feathers, body features, and nesting habits. A concluding note tells more about nesting boxes. The poetic, sensory words (the owl's feathers have a "velvety softness") and the realistic, watercolor-and-pastel pictures, especially those of the snow-white bird against the darkening sky, will place kids at the center of the boy's experience even as it heightens their interest in these intriguing animals.

Horn Book

A girl and her grandfather build a nest box for barn owls. They wait patiently and finally, in a climax that is both visual and textual, spot their new avian neighbors. Cool pastel watercolors emphasize the stillness of a night sky. The fictional tale is accompanied by a parallel informational account, set apart in hand-lettered font, that smoothly complements the story. Ind.

Kirkus Reviews

Few children in the U.N.EWSLUGS now have access to the open woodlands and grasslands frequented by barn owls, but they can all enjoy the magic of this bird thanks to this lovely introduction. nter, a grandfather and his small grandchild (with longish hair but undetermined gender) find an owl roost, open owl pellets, install a nest box and watch patiently until spring when they are rewarded with the sight of owls, hunting in their fields and feeding a family in the box they have provided. The quietly lyrical text is accompanied by Foreman's quietly beautiful illustrations, carefully drawn and painted in textured blues and muted sunset colors, and scientifically accurate except for the oversized moon. Asides, with additional information, are illustrated in browns and printed in a different font, as if they were science notes made by hand. An endnote about nest boxes and a rudimentary index make this useful as well as appealing for the young reader. A worthy companion to Jane Yolen and John Schoenherr's Caldecott-winning Owl Moon (1987). (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The gentle quietness of the barn owl pervades the pages of this lovely story. The creature is the center attraction for a girl and her grandfather who construct a nest box in the hopes of setting their sights on this rather elusive bird. Davies (Extreme Animals) serves as an authority on all things avian, peppering her tale with various factoids about owls set in a typeface that resembles handwritten notes to the reader (""""Owls swallow their prey whole; that's why they need to spit out the bones and fur""""). The girl's voice, characterized by both amazement and anticipation, balances out the authoritative information ("""" 'We'll have to be patient,' said Grandpa. We were patient lots of times!""""). Equally effective are Foreman's (Shakespeare Stories) lush paintings of the night landscape, awash in a palette of cool blues and muted whites cast a luminescent glow on the owl. When the patient duo finally spots the mysterious bird, he is not unlike an angel spreading his wings across the heavens. This story will resonate with nature lovers and introduce new enthusiasts to a wondrous bird. Ages 5-8.