... Owl babies is a picture book aimed at 2 - 8 year olds, but I have also used it with older children to encourage them to express their feelings about sadness, loss, feeling afraid and love.
* The Front Cover *
On the front cover of the book are three owls, two larger owls and a smaller ... Read review
A charming, reassuring book for any child who has ever worried about Mummy leaving them ... more
alone,Owl Babiesis a beautifully illustrated and exquisitely executed picture book to warm the cockles of the heart.As three adorable Owl chicks sit on a branch i...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
A charming, reassuring book for any child who has ever worried about Mummy leaving them ... more
alone, Owl Babies is a beautifully illustrated and exquisitely executed picture book to warm the cockles of the heart. As three adorable Owl chicks sit on a bra...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
This Big Book edition is perfect for sharing with groups of young readers. A charming, ... more
reassuring book for any child who has ever worried about Mummy leaving them alone, Owl Babies is a beautifully illustrated and exquisitely executed picture book t...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
This Big Book edition is perfect for sharing with groups of young readers.A charming, ... more
reassuring book for any child who has ever worried about Mummy leaving them alone,Owl Babiesis a beautifully illustrated and exquisitely executed picture book to war...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
This Big Book edition is perfect for sharing with groups of young readers. A charming, ... more
reassuring book for any child who has ever worried about Mummy leaving them alone, Owl Babies is a beautifully illustrated and exquisitely executed picture book t...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
This Big Book edition is perfect for sharing with groups of young readers.A charming, ... more
reassuring book for any child who has ever worried about Mummy leaving them alone,Owl Babiesis a beautifully illustrated and exquisitely executed picture book to war...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
This Big Book edition is perfect for sharing with groups of young readers. A charming, ... more
reassuring book for any child who has ever worried about Mummy leaving them alone, Owl Babies is a beautifully illustrated and exquisitely executed picture book t...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
On a tree in the woods, three baby owls sit and think and wait for their Owl Mother to ... more
come home. This book includes the story of three Owl babies who are waiting for their mother. The accompanying CD features story readings, music, games and activities.
A story in which three baby owls wake up one night in their hole in a tree to find that ... more
their mother has gone. Darkness gathers and the owls grow anxious, until at last she returns and they bounce up and down with joy. Illustrated by Patrick Benson in full colour.
Three baby owls, Sarah, Percy and Bill, wake up one night in their hole in a tree to find ... more
that their mother has gone. So they sit on a branch and wait. Darkness gathers and the owls grow anxious, wondering when their mother will return. But, at last, she does, and they joyously welcome her home.
Advantages: A beautiful story. Well illustrated Disadvantages: None that I can think of
...this is one such example. Owl babies is a picture book aimed at 2 - 8 year olds, but I have also used it with older children to encourage them to express their feelings about sadness, loss, feeling afraid and love.
* The Front Cover *
On the front cover of the book are three owls, two larger owls and a smaller one in the middle, they are perched on a branch and the one in the middle looks a little worried. I only mention ... ...starts by introducing the three owl babies seen on the cover. They are Sarah, Percy and Bill. They live in the tree trunk with their Owl Mother. There is a brief description of the tree trunk which is their home.
One night the owl babies wake up and realise that their Mother has gone. Now Sarah and Percy, the older owls, are pragmatic about their Mother's departure, suggesting that she has gone hunting, but poor Bill, the youngest ... more
Every once in a while you come across a truly beautiful child's book, and this is one such example. Owl babies is a picture book aimed at 2 - 8 year olds, but I have also used it with older children to encourage them to express their feelings about sadness, loss, feeling afraid and love.
* The Front Cover *
On the front cover of the book are three owls, two larger owls and a smaller one in the middle, they are perched on a branch and the one in the middle looks a little worried. I only mention this because I have used this story in school, and we have talked about the owls and thought about how they might be feeling.
* The Story *
The story starts by introducing the three owl babies seen on the cover. They are Sarah, Percy and Bill. They live in the tree trunk with their Owl Mother. There is a brief description of the tree trunk which is their home.
One night the owl babies wake up and realise that their Mother has gone. Now Sarah and Percy, the older owls, are pragmatic about their Mother's departure, suggesting that she has gone hunting, but poor Bill, the youngest owl, can only say "I want my Mummy!"
The story continues, with the owls sitting around pondering where their mother has got to. The line "All owls think a lot" is repeated throughout the story. Sarah remains upbeat, Percy starts to doubt that she will return and again all Bill can say is "I want my Mummy!"
By the end, even Sarah starts to doubt her Mother's reappearance, and suggests that all the owls should sit together on her branch. The owls close their eyes and wish that their Mother would return, and she does. The owls are delighted by her return and she asks what all the fuss is about. Sarah and Percy claim that they knew she would come back, but all Bill says is "I love my Mummy".
* The Layout *
On a first flick through the book you could easily be put off by its darkness. The text is in colour on black pages, and the pictures are not bright (but then owls are nocturnal animals.)
There are pictures and writing on each page. The writing is on the left hand side of each double page, and the pictures curl around the text. This book is 21.5cm tall and 26 cm wide, so when you open it out you get a lovely long picture.
* The Text*
This is a simple picture book. Each page has at the most 8 lines of writing. The text level is easy enough for most 7 year olds to read independently. The book can be shared with children from about the age of three.
However, although it is a simple text there is a lot of depth to the story and children can really empathise with the owls feelings.
* The Illustrations *
This book is beautifully illustrated by Patrick Benson. The pictures have an almost textured quality to them. Benson manages to give the owls faces expression. He shows the feelings of anxiety and worry, which helps younger children to understand the story and empathise with the owls.
The combination of a lovely story with beautiful illustrations makes this a book that children enjoy returning to again and again.
* Ways to Use the Book *
Obviously the most important way to use this book is simply as a story to be enjoyed. However, due to the nature of the story it is a very good book to draw other Literacy skills from.
There are two sentences in the book which are repeated. Children can be encouraged to read along with these sentences, giving them security to 'have a go' with their reading.
The front cover lends itself to a discussion about what children think might happen in the story. This is a useful skill, and encourages children to tell their own story using a picture as a starting point.
The fact that it is a fairly simple text means that children are able to retell it.
Many children experiment with putting expression into their reading in this story. Bill's repetition of "I want my Mummy!" means that children do not have to think about what they are reading, more the way that they are reading it. I have had lovely discussions with children about using a soft squeaky voice for Bill, and a deeper voice for Percy.
This book can also be used to help children develop their personal and social skills. Many children find that they want to talk about times that they felt scared, like Bill, and times when they wanted a grown up who was special to them. They also talk about their siblings, and how they would react it the same situations. The fact that the grown up returns in the end provides reassurance for the younger child, and older children seem drawn to the quality of the illustrations.
* Other stories by Martin Waddell *
If you enjoy this book, there are many other stories written by Martin Waddell. My favourites are: You and me little bear Rosie's Bear Farmer Duck The Tough Princess
* Other Information *
Published in paperback by Walker Books. The book is also published in hardback, as a mini book or a big book, with CD or DVD and with a toy, but I have reviewed the paperback version. ISBN 0-7445-3167-5 RRP £4.99 My copy is from a bundle of 10 books purchased from The Book People for £9.99 Amazon price is currently £3.99
Advantages: Gentle and simple story. Disadvantages: None.
...my girls love them.
Owl Babies is one of a pack of books that we got last Christmas for £10 from one of the book clubs.I know i cannot go wrong with any of their books, and i was not disapointed by any of the books in the pack.
The book is written by Martin Waddell, who has also written others such as Farmer Duck and Snow Bears.
It is illustrated by Patrick Benson.I am not sure of any others he may have done, but will update as i find any.
*STORY*
... ...happy to see her.
Mother owl wonders what all the fuss is about, as they all know that she always returns home to them.
They are just happy to see her, as they all love their mummy, and missed her very much.
*ILLUSTRATIONS*
The pictures are all quite dark, as owls only come out a night.
The owls themselves are very fluffy, with big scared eyes. There is detail to the feathers and beaks, and some of the background scenery has a lot of detail ...
loopymum65 07.10.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Owl Babies - Martin Waddell
Advantages: A lovely story book that helps children to talk about their fears Disadvantages: none
Owl Babies' is a gorgeous picture book written by Martin Waddell and illustrated by Patrick Benson. Quite simply, it tells the story of three little owl babies - Sarah, Percy and Bill and what happened one night when their mummy disappeared.
When they discover she has gone, they wonder where she is. Sarah, the eldest baby suggests that she might have gone hunting, and Bill agrees that that she has gone to get them some food. Poor little Bill, the ... ...a beautiful pictue of all owl babies with eyes tightly shut. Of course, as this is a book for children, you can expect a happy ending so after lots of wishing their mummy does return. She 'swoops soft and silently' through the trees to her little babies who are overjoyed to see her. Once they have calmed down, she says what's all the fuss about because they knew she would come back and they all say that of course they did.
I like this simply story ...
kingfisher111 10.09.2006 (09.01.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Owl Babies - Martin Waddell
Advantages: A lovely story book for your child. Disadvantages: There aren't any
...and wish that mother owl would return then at that moment Mother owl silently flies in through the trees. The baby owls are so excited to see Mother Owl. She wonders what all the fuss has been about they should know that she would come back.
I think the book is really good as it shows the different character of the three baby owls all through the book. Sarah sounds like the smartest baby reassuring the two other baby owls that there mother will ... ...what Sarah says and Billy is the baby of the baby owls, all the way through the book he just says “I want my mummy”.
The illustrations in the book are really clear and you can see a lot of detail has gone into the pictures. They do look simple but if you look closely at the owls you can see the illustrator has worked hard at making there feathers look realistic and detailed. Most of the background on the pages is dark as the story is set in the ...
gsparkle 13.03.2009 (18.03.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Owl Babies - Martin Waddell
...favourite children's books is the owl babies by Martin Waddell.It is a charming book with a simple, touching story and beautiful illustrations.
As this is a children's book I am going to tell you the story so please don't accuse me of spoiling the plot! I like to know how a story is going to end so I can judge whether it is suitable for my children.
The story.
********
This is the story of 3 baby owls, Sarah, Percy and Bill. The owls live with ... ...happy ending however when mother owl swoops back to the nest. Mother owl can't understand what all the fuss has been about and reminds her brood that she would never leave them!
The illustrations.
*************
The book is illustrated by Patrick Benson. Each page contains exquisitely drawn delicate pictures. My son's favourite is the page containing a large picture of mother owl swooping back to the nest. Mother owl takes up 2 pages and the picture ...
anwar 08.11.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Owl Babies - Martin Waddell
Advantages: lovely read for the family Disadvantages: None
The owl babies, by Martin Waddell
This is the story, of Sarah, Percy and bill. They are three little owl babies, who sit on their branch as they wait for their mummy to come home. They continue to wait, and wait and still she does not come. They look after each other, and Sarah and Percy come up with several sensible ideas as to where she might be. And at the end of each page, tiny bill always says simply "I want my mummy!" Wonderfully illustrated ... ...the babies get more and more scared, by the thought of their mummy not coming home. Sweet and homely the combination of Waddell's simple language and Benson's excellent artwork make for a really great children's book. Of course, in the end mummy comes home, and little bill exclaims "I love my mummy!"
Now, this book has been enjoyed by my children, and I was able to write it into their bedtime routine. It calmed them down, and the story made them ...
giksy21 10.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Owl Babies - Martin Waddell
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Advantages: good story line with lovely illustrations Disadvantages: none
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As some of you may remember from my other reviews, I have a thing for Walker books. In my experience, they are all wonderful stories with excellent illustrations, and Snow Babies is no exception.
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