Whoo goes there?

In the quiet of the night, Owl surveys his surroundings, searching for dinner. He waited and watched with big, round eyes, and soon a rustling sound gets his attention. Anticipating the possibilities, Owl imagines a plump mouse, only to discover a cat padding softly across the yard. A Crack! Crack! leads Owl to envision a fat little squirrel just right for my dinner. Gazing about, he spots a skunk, not a suitable meal at all. Ericsson effectively uses pace and repetition as she introduces a series of imagined prospective meals, each turning out to be a creature that Owl will not eat. Brief descriptions of animal characteristics and behaviors are accompanied by intricately detailed illustrations. Leaves, grass, a skunk's stripe, and the wings of a bird are all finely depicted and enrobed in the softness of evening's light. Not only an appealing ode to nighttime, this quiet story will also clue young children in to the often-unnoticed dramas of nature.--Cox, Ernie Copyright 2009 Booklist

Compelling pacing, dark colors and an air of mystery lend significance to a series of events that might otherwise go unnoticed. Sitting on a bare tree limb under a full moon, Owl hears a rustling noise. "Whoo goes there? thought Owl. Is it a mouse-a fat little mouse just right for my dinner?" But no, it's a cat. The sequence is repeated with different animals: Owl's prospect always turns out to be either an unappetizing animal or prey that another animal has gotten to first-a useful lesson in the series of near misses that constitute the life of a predator. Ericsson's (A Piece of Chalk) sentences are short and spare, but the tension builds as Owl keeps getting fooled. Kitchen (Animal Alphabet) is master of the whisker-thin paint stroke-readers can almost see the porcupine's quills quiver in the velvety night. His paintings of the animals are a little like solemn American primitive portraits, though more detailed-and they add a layer of complexity to a deceptively simple book. Ages 2-6. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

PreS-K-Finding food involves a long night of waiting and listening that's also filled with disappointment for a handsome owl perched high in a tree. Ericsson uses a simple repetitive scheme to introduce an array of small animals that travel through the owl's moonlit world. "'Whoo goes there?' thought Owl. 'Is it a mouse-a fat little mouse just right for dinner?'" No, this time the rustling is a cat padding across the yard. "Owl did not want cat for his dinner." Cat is followed by new noises and hoped-for possibilities including a squirrel, a rabbit, a bird, an opossum, and a fish. The mistaken sounds ("Eeeek, eeeek"; "Skitter, skitter") belong to a skunk, a fox, a bat, a porcupine, and a beaver. Kitchen's naturalistic paintings are set in attractive alternating sets. On pages of soft buff, blue, or green, Owl perches next to the text describing the next candidate for dinner, who is seen in the facing scene. The page turns to a much fuller view of the actual animal paired with a white column of text. The predictable pattern does finally lead to a fat mouse, but just as Owl swoops down there's a new interruption. Owl disappears, and the mouse is left hunting for his own dinner. The predictive text and handsome pictures are just right for reading with preschoolers, who will surely chime in with some speculation and questions.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A hungry owl in a tall tree watches, listens and waits for his dinner. He tries to match the sounds he hears with the prey he eats, but is often incorrect in his guesses. "Shuffle, shuffle." "Whoo goes there?" thinks Owl. "Is it an opossuma fat little opossum just right for my dinner?" But it turns out to be a porcupine. And so it goes for Owl. Even when he does finally spy a good dinner, his efforts at catching it are thwarted. The repetitive phrases and guessing format are well suited to a young audience, who will likely enjoy giving reasons why Owl would not want to eat the animals he sees. On the flip side, however, the text may be a little long for them and there are no visual clues to ground children's guesses. Kitchen's artwork is very detailed; many of his meticulously drawn animals appear ready to walk right off the pages, while the muted palette suits the nighttime setting. A mixed bag, this needs a carefully chosen audience. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In the quiet of the night, Owl surveys his surroundings, searching for dinner. "He waited and watched with big, round eyes," and soon a rustling sound gets his attention. Anticipating the possibilities, Owl imagines a plump mouse, only to discover a cat padding softly across the yard. A "Crack! Crack!" leads Owl to envision "a fat little squirrel just right for my dinner." Gazing about, he spots a skunk, not a suitable meal at all. Ericsson effectively uses pace and repetition as she introduces a series of imagined prospective meals, each turning out to be a creature that Owl will not eat. Brief descriptions of animal characteristics and behaviors are accompanied by intricately detailed illustrations. Leaves, grass, a skunk's stripe, and the wings of a bird are all finely depicted and enrobed in the softness of evening's light. Not only an appealing ode to nighttime, this quiet story will also clue young children in to the often-unnoticed dramas of nature. Copyright 2009 Booklist Reviews.

Compelling pacing, dark colors and an air of mystery lend significance to a series of events that might otherwise go unnoticed. Sitting on a bare tree limb under a full moon, Owl hears a rustling noise. "Whoo goes there? thought Owl. Is it a mouse—a fat little mouse just right for my dinner?" But no, it's a cat. The sequence is repeated with different animals: Owl's prospect always turns out to be either an unappetizing animal or prey that another animal has gotten to first—a useful lesson in the series of near misses that constitute the life of a predator. Ericsson's (A Piece of Chalk) sentences are short and spare, but the tension builds as Owl keeps getting fooled. Kitchen (Animal Alphabet) is master of the whisker-thin paint stroke—readers can almost see the porcupine's quills quiver in the velvety night. His paintings of the animals are a little like solemn American primitive portraits, though more detailed—and they add a layer of complexity to a deceptively simple book. Ages 2–6. (Oct.)

PreS-K—Finding food involves a long night of waiting and listening that's also filled with disappointment for a handsome owl perched high in a tree. Ericsson uses a simple repetitive scheme to introduce an array of small animals that travel through the owl's moonlit world. "'Whoo goes there?' thought Owl. 'Is it a mouse—a fat little mouse just right for dinner?'" No, this time the rustling is a cat padding across the yard. "Owl did not want cat for his dinner." Cat is followed by new noises and hoped-for possibilities including a squirrel, a rabbit, a bird, an opossum, and a fish. The mistaken sounds ("Eeeek, eeeek"; "Skitter, skitter") belong to a skunk, a fox, a bat, a porcupine, and a beaver. Kitchen's naturalistic paintings are set in attractive alternating sets. On pages of soft buff, blue, or green, Owl perches next to the text describing the next candidate for dinner, who is seen in the facing scene. The page turns to a much fuller view of the actual animal paired with a white column of text. The predictable pattern does finally lead to a fat mouse, but just as Owl swoops down there's a new interruption. Owl disappears, and the mouse is left hunting for his own dinner. The predictive text and handsome pictures are just right for reading with preschoolers, who will surely chime in with some speculation and questions.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston