There's an Owl in the Shower

by Jean Craighead George, Christine Herman Merrill (Illustrator)

It's people versus owls in this laugh-out-loud story about one family's love for a special little owl, from bestselling nature writer and Newbery Medal winner Jean Craighead George!

Borden Watson's father is out of job, and it's all the spotted owls' fault. The birds are endangered, which means loggers, like Mr. Watson, are no longer allowed to cut down trees.

It doesn't make sense to Borden. Why are owls being put first over the citizens?

But when Borden finds an owlet in the forest who needs his care, he brings it back home--much to Mr. Watson's displeasure. Hilarious chaos soon ensues, as the tiny owl makes big changes in this logging family's home, and makes his way into their hearts.

This heartwarming story is a great way for young readers to learn about important topics, like endangered species, conservation, and environmentalism.

--School Library Journal

Genres: Animals, Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Nature, Young Adult

144 pages, Hardcover

First published March 14, 1997

About the author

Jean Craighead George wrote over eighty popular books for young adults, including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves and the Newbery Honor book My Side of the Mountain. Most of her books deal with topics related to the environment and the natural world. While she mostly wrote children's fiction, she also wrote at least two guides to cooking with wild foods, and an autobiography, Journey Inward.

The mother of three children, (Twig C. George, Craig, and T. Luke George) Jean George was a grandmother who joyfully read to her grandchildren since the time they were born. Over the years Jean George kept one hundred and seventy-three pets, not including dogs and cats, in her home in Chappaqua, New York. "Most of these wild animals depart in autumn when the sun changes their behaviour and they feel the urge to migrate or go off alone. While they are with us, however, they become characters in my books, articles, and stories."

Reviews

[Li'l Owl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, love this book!!
Seeing as owls are my favorite bird, obviously, how could I not!

Award-winning nature writer, Jean Craighead George is Brilliant!

Borden's father, Leon, was a logger in the old-growth forests of California. That is, until the spotted-owl loving environmentalists interfered. One day, frustrated by his father's unemployment, Borden sets out on a mission of revenge against the spotted owl but returns home with a half-starved owlet instead.
Only after the whole family grows to love the little owlet do they realize that the conflict between nature and human industry is not so easily resolved.

Cleverly disguised within this truly engaging and delightful story is a complete and thorough education in ecology and how the extinction of just one species of owl will upset the balance of all living things, including us.

There's heaps of interesting and fun knowledge about Spotted Owls to be had in this very short book!

I can't wait to discover what else Jean Craighead George has written and if they're anything like this one, I can see more books ending up on my to-read shelves!

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

So yes indeed, that at the beginning of Jean Craighead George's There's an Owl in the Shower main protagonist Borden Watson (that a child, that in fact and indeed anyone) would actually be deliberately stalking and trying to shoot to kill (and no, I should probably be saying trying to callously and with impunity MURDER) critically endangered Spotted Owls (and all because the old growth forest is finally now being protected and that Borden's lumberjack father has therefore lost his job), yes, this entire scenario has indeed made me so massively livid and furious (and equally so because in my humble opinion, author Jean Craighead George is with her narrative being not nearly utterly condemning enough of and towards both Borden and his father, of and towards their unreasonable and totally unacceptable utter hatred of Spotted Owls), I do have to admit that I not only became totally and utterly (lastingly) furious at Borden and his father but also very quickly ended up deciding to no longer continue reading There's an Owl in the Shower.

For even though I do know for a fact (and after having read online reviews of There's an Owl in the Shower) that Borden and his father seemingly do change their minds about Spotted Owls when they rescue and take care of an orphaned owlet, for me, the fact that the beginning of There's an Owl in the Shower features much too much understanding and not nearly enough condemnation of Borden's anger and his even trying to cowardly shoot and kill any Spotted Owl he happens to locate, that has really and truly made me too angry to consider continuing with There's an Owl in the Shower (as my emotions are running too negatively and too angrily, and no, I do not want to read ANY WORDS AT ALL supportive of loggers and their families who despise endangered birds simply because of their jobs and possible job losses). And while my presented attitude might indeed and admittedly be rather one-sided here, I also do think I am being no more and no less one-sided than what is being described by Jean Craighead George as existing amongst the affected loggers and their loved ones, and well, I just cannot and will not push myself to continue reading There's an Owl in the Shower, because I just do not want to get myself even more angry and riled up than I already am after having ploughed through the first thirty or so pages of There's an Owl in the Shower.

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2020
A pretty cute book, for the most part. I'm glad that Borden and his family decided to come together to help the owlet. I liked the message about environmentalism and the moral behind the story (don't just hate things because they caused something bad to happen to you. Sometimes the greatest things come out of adversity). And I'm certainly glad that they didn't ring Bardy's neck. However, the book did end on kind of a sad note for the spotted owls. The hopelessness of Enrique calling for his mate and receiving no answer from her was just sad. Other than that, it was a decent story.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for animal stories like this. :)

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two baby spotted owls have very different fates when they are blown from their nest in a windstorm. One is killed almost immediately. The other is picked up and brought home by Borden, a boy whose father, a logger, is out of work because of endangered spotted owls. Borden is angry, and wants to kill the owls, source of all of his family's troubles. Instead, he finds compassion and understanding through Bardy, the little half-starved owl. Borden's father, also angry, assumes most of the caretaking of Bardy, at first with selfish motives, but then through affection. In the end, Borden's father finds a different job and gains valuable understanding of the forest ecosystem and all that it affects, and communicates this to his kids. Children should enjoy this story, simply told and with an endearing cover. The writing is often a little bare and the characters are underdeveloped, but George gets her message through: take care of the environment, and it will help take care of you. Pair with Hoot for slightly older readers. Gr. 4-6.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This is a modern fairy tale. The beginning is painful -- anger, hurt, and a gun. I didn't want to continue reading, but I trusted JCG and forged on. All ends well and the bad guys 'see the light' (of course).

p 70: If owls eat just beef and don't get the fur, bones, and feathers in rodents and birds, they won't be able to cast, and they'll get sickly. Birds of prey must cast."

So do they really need to cast, or do they just need variety in their diet? If it's an actual need, they may be getting some nutrients out of the indigestible part of their food.

Aside: For the first time ever, I found owl pellets in my yard under a big honey locust tree. I have yet to see the owl ... but maybe, one of these days, ...

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Jean Craighead George however, I think this one was aimed at an even younger audience than the Mountain Trilogy I read earlier this summer. I just wasn't as crazy about it as I was about them. Part of my displeasure was simply that the story wasn't really what I expected it to be. There is very little of it that involves the shower and owl antics inside the house. It's much more about the conversion of a logger/spotted-owl hater into a conservationist/nature lover.

It's a great book for younger or less experienced readers to get them interested in books about nature, animals, conservation and such. I'd definitely recommend it to elementary school level readers.

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a little heavy-handed with environmentalism, tugging at heart-strings over the fate of a family of spotted owls, but it would still serve as a useful book for discussing both sides of environmental stewardship and the need for people to have jobs and use natural resources for the benefit of mankind.

Update: One of my students spotted a use of the word "damned" that I had missed in my earlier reading. Sadly, that does hurt this book's usefulness in my estimation.

[Iptisam · Rating 5 out of 5]

was interesting because I was asking my self how an owl get in the shower

[Joey Oborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good in the first part the book was not that good and then it started to get a little bit better I think Borden and his family really cared about Brady(The owl AND NOT TOM BRADY) so they but him in a box and gave him mice to eat but I think they should not have but him in a box he has to be like an owl and find food like an owl but Borden was trying to make the owl survive.

[Alycia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it ☺️

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our oldest and I are getting into the habit of sharing books and I love it. Normally, we pick out books at the library for her independent reading and I will read them after she does so that we can discuss the plots and themes. I love that she gets excited for me to read them and is often so thrilled over a particular part that she can't help but give away the plot.

With this book, she read the story in class and loved it so much that she asked her teacher if she could bring it home for me to read, too. I thought that was so sweet; I made sure I read it quickly so she can return it to her class library for someone else to read.

Overall, it's a good read for children in grades 3-5 and has a heavy environmental message. The story is sweet and yet it ends on a sad, cautionary note. We discussed how both Enrique's mate, her daughter, and her mother were gone and probably killed by the anti-owl people and that without mom owls, there'd be no baby owls.

There are some challenging vocabulary words, some that I even had to look up. I think it's a very good book for children in elementary school, primarily grades 3-4. We both enjoyed this story and will certainly look for more books by Jean Craighead George at our local library.

new words: rachis, vibrissae, jesses, arbutus

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for grades 3-5. I used it as a read aloud. Deals with land conservation and endangered species. This book can be tied into the United States unit for 4th grade Massachusetts curriculum (it is set in a small town in northern California). Another tie in book may be the picture book Redwoods by Jason Chin (great pictures!).

[Mrs.Y. Yeingst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the well written account of the conflict between loggers and the spotted owl in the Pacific northwest. Does a good job of helping the reader understand both sides of the situation. I love animal stories, and this is one of the best.

[emma grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

On an old reading list I found... Read sometime in 2006.

[Joel Thame · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Candi Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 5 year old gave it 5 stars. She likes that people end up making good decisions even when it's hard.

[Myra Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book with information about spotted owls and conservation issues.

[Emily Xaviere]

Published in 1997; hard to judge in 2022. I read a lot of kids books and pass them on to neighborhood kids...this is one I'd feel rather conflicted about giving to a kid. It's not so much the violence itself but how the book treats said violence.

* The kid protagonist going out to shoot owls in the beginning is rough to read; however as an adult now and thinking of my child self I think the passage works very well to show the deep hurt and genuine hardships the loggers are experiencing.

* The father's ongoing threats to kill the owl he's caring for and the length of time the family absolutely ignores them is disturbing now and would have upset me as a kid. And I think in 97, these threats were supposed to be funny, which is why no other characters react. The father is as much the protagonist as his son and his whole characterizatuon really bothers me. "Toxic masculinity" to a T.

The illustrations of the community division and how the environmental problem affects both animals and people is really quite good. And that the solutions need to consider animals and people. Great discussion points for young readers.. There are some heartwarming parts and great images. I really enjoyed the animal perspective sections and everything I learned about owls and can think of several kids I give books to who would also.

But unfortunately, the father's characterization and constant threats of violence to the animal companion make me not want to give the book to the intended audience.

[Quath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leon the logger is out of work due to environmental concerns over an endangered owl species. When his son brings home an owlet, he wants to wring its neck... but only after using the creature to win over a judge in an upcoming hearing.

JCG's My Side of the Mountain ranks as one of my favorite books of all time; her other stories, however, are sometimes hit or miss. This one is more of a miss for me, although it still provides a good introduction for kids to the difficulties of balancing good forest management and conservation efforts with jobs and industry.

The story correctly identifies that a large part of the issue is the government itself, including inappropriate rules and guidelines for logging (not enough trees left near each other; clear-cutting instead of selective cutting) and a lack of oversight to ensure those rules are being followed (replanting that don't happen, etc). No unrealistic miracle solutions are offered; instead, the story concludes on a bittersweet note, observing that any solution takes time and effort.

There's a lot of good information packed into this little story, from owlet eating habits and development to the legalities (or illegalities) of raising an endangered species at home. Cute, fun read, but not something I plan to read more than once.

[Sam Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

George, Jean Craighead. There's an Owl in the Shower. Scholastic. 1997. 134 Pages.

Jean Craighead George is a champion of YA Literature, and in her book There's an Owl in the Shower, young minds are afforded a lesson in wildlife conservation. Borden Watson is a son to a logging family whose rights to work have been stripped by the courts because of the endangered species of the spotted brown owl. The hatred for this specific owl burns within son and father, and the book opens with Borden hunting them in the woods. When Borden's father gets into an altercation with a high school science teacher who advocates for this conservation, using the owl as an indicator for our mistreatment of the environment as a whole, he seeks to find any means to help his cause and get back to work in logging. Borden finds a baby owl on the forest floor, and believing it to be a different species than the guilty spotted brown owl, the one responsible for his father being out of work, he brings it home to care for it. His father vows to care for it, justifying it as a supporting factor for when he goes before the judge, but also promising to kill the bird once things are back to normal.
By reading this book, young readers are given a valuable lesson in the wrongs of how the world treats its environment. Borden is offered multiple perspectives from his father, mother, sister, and teachers at school that give him a new perspective on the dangers of mistreating the natural world. The book, well constructed for the adolescent reader, is a quick and easy read with some valuable lessons to teach.

[Toryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borden lives in California, where his father Leon works as a logger in the old growth forests. One day, Leon gets news that he is out of the job. Why? Because of the owls.
The judge had decided that the trees that Leon and his fellow loggers were felling were actually beneficial to spotted owls, a now endangered species. Both Leon and Borden are outraged that the judge cares more about owls than people.
But then Borden stumbles upon a baby owlet in the old growth. Because it doesn’t have spots of his nemesis the spotted owl, Borden identities it as a barred owl. He names it “Bardy”, and takes it home to live with them. As Bardy grows, and becomes more and more attached to the family, especially Leon, they may have to make a surprising discovery about his real identity.

As with all of Jean Craighead George’s books, this one is filled with engaging facts about the topic of spotted owls and all endangered species. She inserts tons of interesting information about the environment, while still writing and entertaining and heartwarming story.

[Kristin Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed several of Jean Craighead George’s books and this was another delightful read spotlighting the spotted owl in the West and a family who was in opposition to keeping the spotted owl alive and well but had a reversal of feelings as a baby spotted owl opened their eyes. I have been part of the culture that protects spotted owls and their habitat in the great northwestern forests and could relate on many levels to the emotions of the people described in the book. The book was good at examining both sides of the conflict, old growth forest versus clear cutting. A wonderful read for children that encourages them to be involved no matter how old they are in being good stewards of our environment. George’s books are timeless because even if the spotted owl is not top news in today’s current events now there is always some other part of nature that is out of balance and hurting and needs a youthful supporter and protecter.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up because I love owls and thought it might be a cute story. From the first chapter I took an aversion and wanted to toss the book. My aversion only increased as I fought my way through chapters two and three. So many times I wanted to toss this aside and forget about it but something kept me reading. And I am SO glad it did. This is one of the most sensorial stories I’ve ever read. I ended up with compassion for every single character, even those with murderous intentions. AND the very idea of, yuk, rodents, yuk, yuk! makes me squirm, but this story carried me through every, catch-em, rip them, feed them, episode and I made it out okay, I think.

All that said, this is one of the best stories I’ve ever experienced. AND it’s HILARIOUS! I couldn’t put it down! There’s an Owl in the Shower was a challenge for me to get into but it well worth the struggle. I also learned a LOT about the environment that I didn’t know before. Great story! Highly recommend!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always wondered about this title written by the same author as My Side of the Mountain, it looks so different than that one! And it is, but it has some similar themes. It reminded me somewhat of Hoot by Carl Hiasson, where the kids are trying to stop construction workers from tearing up a burrowing owl habitat.
In this case, it's spotted owls and the logging industry. The main character's father has lost his job because environmentalists have halted logging to protect the owls. Dad and son are both pretty bitter about this. Son goes into the forest to shoot the offending owl, but ends up leaving. Later he comes back and finds an owlet that has fallen out of the nest, and takes it home. Dad softens up over time, and by taking care of the owl. We learn more about his history with nature and his underlying understanding that actually, the logging company does need to change it's practices or else a whole bunch of other things are impacted, not just one owl.

[Michele Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful read for any age. Borden's dad is a logger in one of the oldest growth forests in California. When the endangered spotted-owl is found living in the trees, Borden's dad is out of a job. The book begins with Borden hunting the owls and very angry with the environmentalist that halted the logging. However, when he finds an abandoned owlet, the whole family eventually becomes enamored with, "Bardy". Bardy charms the family and they begin to see that saving endangered species has a very special significance. Of course the reader knows that eventually Bardy will need to return to the forest. This little story is bittersweet and funny at the same time. So many lessons for those who care about the environment. And Borden's dad decides to use his skills in a way that will positively impact the environment. Highly recommended!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended to me by a fellow teacher who raved about it. My feelings are a little more tepid than that.
#1 - I am just not a fan of George's writing. The formula she uses is like a jagged weapon rather than a skillful tool.
#2 - The character growth is abrupt and feels manufactured. There was no natural transition for me.
#3 - I didn't care for the characters AT ALL. She makes them seem so.....hillbilly?? I don't know. Something about them just puts me right off.

I liked the message, but it was disheartening that this was written in 1995, and we are STILL dealing with these environmental issues. WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG FOR HUMANS TO LEARN?? That being said, this was 100% an environmental propaganda book, and George makes no apologies for it.

[Jessica Zimmerschied · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very good book. My 10 year old son was appalled at the characters’ hatred of the owls in the beginning, which led to some really good discussions about the characters’ circumstances and trying to see things from someone else’s point of view. It was heart warming to see the characters grow and soften. However, the final paragraph where the father owl calls for his mate with no answer was a little too bleak a note to end on. I had a crying child refusing to sleep in his own bed after that, and it kept this from being a 4 star book. This book had some harsh realities throughout, and I appreciate books giving kids opportunities to work through these things, but leave them with a little hope, please.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bordon's father is out of a job because of the spotted owl. The town is split between the loggers and the environmentalists. Bordon is in the logger camp in support of his father.
Then Bordon finds Bardy, a starving young owl.
This book looks at the many sides of environmental issues. Everyone is right. Everyone is wrong. Everyone is paying a price. The book is never preachy and tries to be fair to all. It presents complex issues fairly simply without dumbing them down.
Bardy is a delight. And, yes, Bardy loves taking showers.
Written for younger children, this book is still a good introduction to the complex environmental issues of today.

[Colette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my least favorite book by Jean Craighead George. It is too stilted and forced; trying too hard to make a point. I was disappointed in this one. The story and characters seemed like they were the background to the message that clear cutting forests is bad. The changes the characters make are both quick and drastic. This is also one of those books with a gruff dad, like in Old Yeller and The Yearling. For some reason I just don’t like that.