Little Owl's Orange Scarf

May 1, 2013
A little owl struggles with accessory problems. Little Owl lives with his Mommy in a tree house on the edge of the city park. He loves all the things little owls usually love: doing arithmetic, eating ice cream and riding a scooter. There is one flaw in this idyllic scenario: He does not love his new scarf. It is too long, too orange and too itchy. His mother insists that he wear it. He does his best to surreptitiously "lose" the scarf, by using it as a ribbon for a present for Grandpa and by putting it in a suitcase bound for Peru, but Mommy always seems to find it. Until one day...Little Owl returns from a trip to the zoo, minus the hated scarf. This piece of bad luck turns out to be an opportunity for a bit of mother-child bonding. This time, Mommy lets her son choose the yarn for a new scarf, a tasteful blue, and Little Owl is much happier. The new scarf is soft, the right length and not orange. The mystery of where the orange scarf went is revealed in the last picture, sure to elicit chuckles. Feeney's naive pencil-and-duotone illustrations, which use printmaking techniques to add interesting textures, complement the simple narrative and gentle message; both pacing and subtle adjustments to Little Owl's expression add humor. A charming picture book for the very young, whether or not they are fussy about clothes. (Picture book. 3-5)

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June 1, 2013

PreS-K-Little Owl has his likes (adding numbers, eating ice cream, riding his scooter) and a definite dislike: his new scarf. He tries his best to lose the "itchy," "too long," and "far too orange" present, but his mother always finds it. When he returns home from a school trip without the hated accessory, his mother tells him she'll knit another one, "and this time we will do it together!" Feeney's minimalist line drawings humorously and subtly convey Little Owl's emotions. The orange scarf trails across the pages, gets stuck inside a suitcase addressed to Peru, and finally ends up warming the neck of a giraffe at the zoo. The spare text sparkles with warmth and wit and the theme of being allowed to make choices will resonate with children.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2013
Preschool-G There's no accounting for taste. Little Owl's mother has knitted him a long, warm, orange scarf. And he hates it. It's not that Little Owl is negativehe loves adding numbers, eating ice cream, riding his scooter, and, usually, surprisesexcept this one. To Little Owl, the scarf is itchy, too long, and way too orange. He does everything he can to lose the scarf, but the wise mom owl always finds it. Until Little Owl's class goes to the zoo, and he makes one giraffe very, very happy. Feeney's line-and-wash illustrations ramp up the charm throughout, depicting our owls in spare blue with a dab of orange on their tiny beaks. The offending scarf, by contrast, is large and assertively orange. A satisfying lesson in listening and cooperation is given when the mother offers to knit another scarf but this time with Little Owl's help, from visiting the yarn store onward. And guess what? It isn't orange.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)