Little Owl's Night

Little Owl #1

by Divya Srinivasan

It's evening in the forest and Little Owl wakes up from his day-long sleep to watch his friends enjoying the night. Hedgehog sniffs for mushrooms, Skunk nibbles at berries, Frog croaks, and Cricket sings. A full moon rises and Little Owl can't understand why anyone would want to miss it. Could the daytime be nearly as wonderful? Mama Owl begins to describe it to him, but as the sun comes up, Little Owl falls fast asleep.

Putting a twist on the bedtime book, Little Owl's Night is sure to comfort any child with a curiosity about the night.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Fiction, Nature, Birds

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Li'l Owl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute! Lovely children's book.
Adorable cover.

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beyond adorable!

I'm a jaded old lady, and squealed a loud "Awwww!" at the ending.

(Please don't tell anyone. I have my reputation to consider.)

[Sophia Triad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little owl is having a wonderful night!
Adorable book!
There was a time that we used to read it every night before we slept.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations and some lovely poetic lines make up for the rather disjointed and somewhat rambling story of a little owl flying about enjoying the various sights and fellow creatures of the night. It's a good one to show little ones how night can be beautiful and un-scary.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations paired with a simple story about a young owl visiting a number of his friends over the course of a night.

[debbicat *made of stardust* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet!

[Bookworm With a B · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for cuteness! Found it at the doctors office and figured I'd give it a read. Now to find a copy to keep!!!

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Read for my son and he loves it. There are different animals and their activities at night. We like the pictures and short sentences. We bought this book because he says his school has the same book.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Owl out for the night.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Owl explores the beauty of the nighttime, encountering many other animals out and about (and some sleeping) in his travels. Eventually he heads home to his tree, where his mother describes the coming of the dawn. By the time she's done, Little Owl is fast asleep...

Having greatly enjoyed Divya Srinivasan's illustrations for Neil Gaiman's picture-book, Cinnamon , I've been meaning to track down her own stories about Little Owl for some time now. I'm so glad I finally got around to Little Owl's Night, as it is a lovely bedtime book, one pairing a simple text with magical artwork. In truth, it's the visuals that make this book, as the text is mostly unremarkable. The artwork, on the other hand, is gorgeous - deep, vivid colors pop off of the mostly black pages, and the stylized animal figures manage to be both cute and beautiful. I will definitely be tracking down the other titles about Little Owl, and recommend this one to picture-book readers looking for beautifully-illustrated bedtime books.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Owl wakes up from his day time sleep to a beautiful night in the forest. He watches his friends enjoy the night. Little Owl asks his mother how night time ends. As she is describing dawn, Little Owl falls to sleep.

A lovely picture book with vibrant illustrations against a night time background. When dawn approaches, the background matches it. The text is a single sentence per page spread. A great book for kindergarten and up.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book on March 11, 2017. I was in a funk that month, though, and didn't record any status updates or write a review. :-(

So I reread it on June 8, 2017, so that I could write my review. :-)

This is a cute story about a little owl who flies around at night, seeing other night creatures about their business, and generally just taking delight in his surroundings. I enjoyed it, and I hope it will help my nieces with their fear of the dark.

I also liked how in the end, Little Owl asked Mama how night ends. . .but he fell asleep before he could hear the ending. :-)

[Kat Harnisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so cute! As far as board books for kids go this was a good one, it follows the adventures of a baby owl during the night when most of the world is asleep. This was a fun look at how active the nighttime world can be. My three-month-old loved it (probably because of the illustrations). The illustrations are adorable (the little owls eyes are so big! 😂) with extra details that add to the story (the pile of fish in the bear cave, with a badger stealing a fish on the next page made me laugh).

Would recommend!

[Grace Huey · Rating 5 out of 5]

No help needed: wonderful, hedgehog, because, around, raccoon, hovered, fluttered, follow, snoring, wondered, cricket, again, ghosts, moonflowers, brightens, rooster, asleep

Help needed: waddle, gnawed, fireflies, clover, rolled, toward, wanted, usual, gazing, croaked, chirped, gliding, sparkle, glories

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a delightful picture book for all you night owls. Little Owl spends his time watching the nocturnal animals of the field and forest moving about and listening to the chirps of crickets and the croaks of frogs. But as night draws to a close, he requests a story from his mother. She tells him night ends and day begins in beautiful, lyrical language, but he doesn't hear the end of the story because it's sleep time for Little Owl. Young readers will request this title again and again when it's time for their bedtime reading, and their caregivers won't mind repeated readers because of the fluid text that almost has a dreamlike quality about it. The illustrations also have great appeal with wonderfully drawn pines, green grass, and animals with huge eyes. Even the end papers feature interesting details such as a racoon reaching into a squirrel's treasure trove of nuts to steal an acorn or two. This is a great picture book debut from the author/illustrator.

[Daisy Forrester · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book. I do. But I wanted to LOVE it. The illustrations are completely adorable, and the board book format is wonderful for small hands. There's just one problem, and that's the text. There really isn't a story, although there sort of tries to be one. The text is at times mellifluously descriptive, and at other times confusingly flat. It does not flow from page to page, and some of the "characters" and happenings simply make no sense and seem random, and therefore do not demand attention. I wish that the author had used some other resources for writing the text in the story, because the illustrations are truly a wonderful work of art. The pictures alone are a reason to just keep this one on the shelf, for small hands to manipulate and visually enjoy.

[Wordsmith J · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avowed night owl myself, I really appreciated this rarity...a book that talks about the wonderfulness of the nighttime world, rather than just coming at evening from an "It's time to get ready for bed!" viewpoint. Nighttime is beautiful and magical for Little Owl, it's his world. I got it for my little son first, before we ever purchased the companion, Little Owl's Day, where our protagonist wakes up during the day, and like a child who wakes up in the night, decides to go exploring in an odd world he doesn't know that well. Reading Little Owl's Night, first, was the right order, I think. Characters are introduced that come up in the other book, too - good old bear in Grumbly Cave!

The illustrations are enchanting and have a spare, but magical quality about them, from the misty dewdrops clinging to spiderwebs, to the moonflowers closing and the morning glories opening as dawn nears, and Little Owl must go home and get ready for bed himself. Just a really neat, unusual little book that highlights something not often highlighted in children's stories...the beauty of nighttime!

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my daughter's (16m) favorite book. I have it completely memorized because of how many times I've read it to her and while that can drive a person mad, I'm glad the comfort task fell to Little Owl and friends. The cadence of the story is very soothing and she loves the animals

[Laura McLoughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet story. My son and I enjoy reading it right before bed.

[Goshen PL Childrens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read at Storytime on October 16, 2019
Theme: Night Stories

Good to show all the different types of animals that owl sees during the night. Cute story.

[L.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book with illustrations tending more toward life-like than animated 🙌🏼 My 15-month-old loves saying the animals and their sounds, seeing the flowers open and close, and finding Little Owl on each page. She’s enjoyed this book since she was at least 7 months. (And I am always very happy to read it too!)

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

adorable story and cute illustrations!

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son is obsessed with this book. He calls his favorite stuffed owl “Owl Night” and I have to read it at nap and bedtime every night. Love this book so much.

[Lee]

This is so adorable, I love the way it's framed.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 1 year old's favorite book!

[Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Owl's Night is an adorable bed time story that young children, or if you're a child at heart and love owls, will fall in love with. It's simplistic story telling and vivid illustrations make it easy to follow, and enjoy. Though the story isn't an exploration like I thought it would be, it is one of those lovely children's picture books that leaves a smile on your face.

Readers will love following the night's journey with Little Owl as he flies through the forest on his way to his tree and mother, to get ready for bed. On his journey he sees his woodland friends, and takes in the night activities around him. One of my favorite things about the book besides Little Owl, was seeing all his woodland friends and what they were up to. Upon returning home, he asks his Mama about the fast approaching morning. I liked how Divya gives readers both the night life in the woods, and what transpires as the sun begins to rise. Baby owl is asleep before Mama Owl finishes her story and the sun is up, but readers get to see all the that happens as the woodland animals who are up all night head to bed and the morning animals awake.

As I mentioned above, I loved it! I'd definitely recommend this for young children. The story's text is perfect for toddler's who can't sit too long, and is easy for them to understand. The illustrations are just right for this age group as well. They've not overly detailed, and well suited for young ages with the bold colors and simple artwork. I'm not a toddler, and I thought the entire book was adorable.

[Elena Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Owl's Night is a wonderful story written by Divya Srinivasan through the eye's of an owl. It was published in 2011 by Penguin Book. It is a simple story about the different events that happen in the forest that many nocturnal animals witness, but other animals miss out on because they are asleep. During the night, Owl tries to wake up the sleeping animals to show them night life and the moon. After Owl describes the beautiful night life of the forest, the mother bat starts to tell the story of morning. By the time mother bat got around to telling about the day, Owl was missing out because he was already asleep. It is a simple tale; therefore it is very appropriate for children and could have been in the running for the Caldecott award. There are not many words on the pages because the illustrations tell most of the story. The pictures are unique because certain features of the animals are so big and they are all very animated, even when they are stationary. The background of each picture is black, so the colors and details of the animals will jump off the pages and grab the attention of all children. This book could have easily won the Caldecott award because of the uniqueness, quality, and storytelling ability of the illustrations.

[Holly Letson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book. The story was simple. The art was simple. Nothing was overdone, and it was very enjoyable. It told of nighttime in the forest, and how different animals act at night.
I kinda wonder if the Bear will notice, after waking up, that the badger was stealing his fishies/food as he slept. Nothing was said about this in the story, but it was shown on 2 separate page-spreads.
Mama Owl's story of how night turns into day is beautiful.
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I read this on We Give Books (wegivebooks.org), where they donate books to schools when you read books on their site.

[Tasia Sandlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a little owl who loved the night time. It has all the different nocturnal animals throughout the story and all the different things that they were doing. When little owl started to head home he stopped at bears cave and wanted him to see the moon but bear was already asleep. His friend fox had come to say hello to him and finally little owl had asked his mama how the night ends. I love the different animals that are presented in this story and the pictures are very creative. This story can be used in the classroom to teach students about nocturnal animals and that they are awake in the night and sleep during the day.

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art looks almost exactly like that in the Czech animated kids films about Mole that I've shown at story hours for years. Huge eyes,sharp angles, bold solid colors with minimal shadings. There's child appeal in the art but not much story--mostly just Little Owl observing other animals until he gets home and asks Mama about how night ends. He falls asleep over Mama's answer. The end.
Cute, but not much more.