Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved reading stories about a frog and toad who were friends. When she grew up, she shared those favorite stories with her own little girl. And then she went looking to see what other stories might have been written by the same author, Arnold Lobel. To her delight, she found a terrific book called Owl at Home.

That little girl who grew up (well, mostly grew up!) is me, of course. And I really was excited to find a new set of stories by one of my favorite childhood authors. I was drawn to Owl at Home because my four year old absolutely loves birds, owls especially. I trusted that the stories would be written in Lobel's simple, winning style, and with his trademark humor. They are, and include his comical illustrations too.

Owl at Home is part of the "I Can Read" book series published by HarperCollins. HarperCollins began this series in the 1950s. They've expanded the line over the years, and the books are categorized into five different levels, from "My First Shared Reading" which they label as stories for "emergent readers" and on into levels 1-4, which cover various skill levels for beginning readers. Owl at Home, like all of Lobel's Frog and Toad books that I remember with such fondness, is a level 2 or "Reading With Help" book. The publisher clarifies that as "high interest stories and language play for developing readers." (The inside flap of our copy has a list of all five levels and their explanation.)

My daughter is just now beginning to sound out some basic two and three letter words. In other words, she's not ready to read this "level 2" book on her own. But that's all right. One of the best features of the "I Can Read" books is that they make great read-alouds. Your emerging or pre-reader will enjoy hearing the language play, and will likely be challenged to want to step further into reading by these skillful stories featuring simple sentences and helpful repetition.

It's small wonder that Arnold Lobel contributed so many books to this level of the "I Can Read" series, since the goal of this level is to emphasize language play and story enjoyment. Lobel's sense of humor is always interesting and slightly odd. In Owl he's created another eccentric and lovable character who often finds himself involved in adventures due to misunderstandings, miscommunication, or sometimes just plain imagination.

The Five Stories Included in This Reader

In Owl at Home we're treated to five funny stories about Owl. For the most part, all five stories take place at Owl's house and he's the only character. I do miss the camaraderie and friendship lessons of Frog and Toad, although Lobel does a creative job of showing Owl try to befriend some interesting things.

In The Guest, Owl wants to befriend Winter. He hears Winter knocking at his door as the wind gusts, and he thinks it would be polite to invite Winter in to sit with him by his fire. Alas he finds out what happens when he throws his door open wide! Winter roars inside, and before poor Owl knows what he's about, his warm fire has been blown out and his pea soup has turned into green ice! My little girl and I both giggle whenever we hear Owl scold: "Winter!...You are my guest! This is no way to behave!"

The second story, Strange Bumps, is hands-down my daughter's favorite. Or perhaps I should say feet-down! Owl is having a hard time getting to sleep because there are two strange bumps under his blanket at the foot of the bed. He imagines the bumps growing bigger in the dark and finally gets so scared he throws off his covers. All he finds is his feet! My little girl loves to re-enact this story in her own bed, which makes for messy blankets but lots of fun.

Tear-Water Tea is one of those odd but strangely endearing Lobel tales that almost hints at profundity while also being funny. Owl decides he would like a cup of tear-water tea. The only way to make one is to cry into his tea-cup, so he has to think of lots of sad things. His list is wonderful, including chairs with broken legs, spoons that have fallen behind the stove, and books with ripped out pages. Even though this list makes my daughter laugh, I think there's an interesting level of reality behind the sadness here, as all the things on Owl's list are things that can no longer serve their rightful purpose. In the end, Owl drinks his salty tear-water tea and declares it good, sending a subtle but positive message about the goodness of grief.

Upstairs and Downstairs is perhaps the shortest and lightest story in the book. Owl has a dilemma that most parents will instantly relate to: he'd like to be in two places at once. So he practices running up and down his stairs as fast as he can to see if he can manage to be upstairs and downstairs at the same time! (I won't tell you if it works or not...you'll have to read the story!)

The final story Owl and the Moon once again has Owl trying to befriend something, this time the beautiful shining moon in the sky. It follows him home one evening, and while it gets lost for a while behind a cloud, it does eventually re-appear. And Owl is so happy to realize that his new friend can come into his house after all, via the window, even if it is too big to squeeze in through his door.

Each of these five wonderful stories averages 10-11 pages with just a few sentences in large type per page. Almost every word is either one or two syllables long. All the stories are accompanied by Lobel's comical illustrations of the wide-eyed and well-dressed owl (I especially like his bowler hat and his striped pajamas). The illustrations appear to be pencil drawings colored in with washes of light, neutral tones, mostly grays, browns and tans. They remind one a bit of sepia-toned photographs and lend the book an old-fashioned feel.

Owl can be a bit silly from time to time but he's warm-hearted and wiser than he seems. He values friends but also comforting time spent in his overstuffed armchair by his warm fire next to his bookcase. Sounds pretty wise to me! Beginning readers and pre-readers alike will enjoy these funny, simple stories. They're definitely a hit at our house!

~befus, 2007

Owl at Home
An "I Can Read" Book
Written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel
HarperCollins, 1975
0064440346
(This sturdy paperback copy retails for just $3.99, a bargain for your child's bookshelf!)



Recommended: Yes