Lazy Ozzie

by Michael Coleman (Artist), Gwyneth Williamson (Illustrator)

Lazy Ozzie Lazy Ozzie is too lazy to learn how to fly. So he thinks of a brilliant plan to fool his mum into thinking he can... Full description

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 1994

About the author

Coleman was born in Forest Gate, a suburb in east London. Not long after he was born, his family moved a few miles east to Barking. At the time of his arrival, the area was just starting to recover from the damage it had received during World War II. He lived in a house on Bevan Avenue, named after Aneurin Bevan the architect of the National Health Service. He lived in that estate for 20 years. The area helped develop Coleman's love of sport due to the oblong shaped lanes of grass leading up the estate, which could be used as mini-stadiums. He pretended to play at various sporting events of the time, e.g. the Melbourne Olympics of 1956, the soccer Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, and the games at Lords Cricket ground. He still has medals he won for being school champion in the 100m sprint and the long jump. As said by Coleman himself "My information series Foul Football tries to convey some of the magic I felt about the game of soccer by relating the weird and wonderful history of the game and the personalities it has seen over the years. On the fiction side, my series about a junior soccer team called Angels FC tries to bring out the humour and sheer fun that you’ll find at the heart of the game when it’s played by youngsters who don’t even know how to spell the word cynicism." Coleman had his first children’s book published when he was 46 years of age. He has also said: "I didn't [want to become a writer] at first. I used to teach computer science at a university and my first book was a boring one about computers. I livened it up by putting a few jokes in. At the end I thought I'd try writing a few more things, but this time forgetting about the computers and concentrating on the jokes. After lots of failures I realised that youngsters enjoy jokes more than adults and started writing for them. Eighty books later, I'm still doing it...I write both fact and fiction. The Foul Football series are favourite fact books, simply because they're about football. On the fiction side, I'm just finishing a trilogy called The Bearkingdom. They're dark and scary, quite different to anything I've written before."

Reviews

[Hang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short and humorous story about Ozzie, a young owl. Ozzie is a lazy owlet, who does not want to learn how to fly because it requires him to use too much effort. However, his mom says he must fly to the ground. So instead of learning properly, Ozzie tries to think “smarter” instead of working harder. However, Ozzie didn’t know that his mom was watching his plan of trying to trick his mother. This is a really cute book with a lesson behind it. I liked how the story shows the message that there is often more than one way to go about solving a problem in real life. I would use this book in an early education setting because it was enjoyable and taught sequencing and repetition skills. I think this book would be especially great for kids 5-8. I really liked the illustrations it was a really adorable book.

[Savannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young owl can't be bothered to practice flying like his mother asks so hitches a ride on progressively smaller animals until he reaches the ground.

Lots of repetition and alliteration, not much pay off. Spelling out that mother owl was watching the whole time deflates all momentum from the punchline (now fly up again!).

And is a silly version of the moral. Even if you aren't caught in the act of cheating you're going to walk yourself into a situation where you're expected to be able to do something you can't.

[SaraKat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was cute. I read it because it was on the list of books for the pillars of character. It was supposed to illustrate trustworthiness. The title character lies and spends more time and energy on the lie than he would have to just do the task he was set in the first place. Good lesson, and I liked the art. Ozzie is adorable, but the sheepdog's first introduction drawing had me scratching my head as I couldn't tell which part was which! :)

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Ozzie was a very lazy owl.”

He’s so lazy he doesn’t even want to learn to fly because it looks like too much work. But his mother says he must learn and wants him to fly to the ground by the time she gets back. Trying to use wisdom in place of effort, he calls on the different farm animals to help him get to the ground on their backs. But! Little does he know, Mom is watching.

Ozzie is adorably drawn.

[Emili Ihm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really cute, it shows young children what happens and what consequences you may receive when you lie about something. It teaches children to try their best instead of lying, because lying gets you no where.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really cute story, but it ends so abruptly that it feels like it's missing the ending.

[Myriambooks85 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trop mignonne cette histoire

[Jordyn]

how do i read
?????

[Melissa Lavely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grayson loved this one.

[Nahuatl P Vargas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chistoso, con actividades de apoyo al aprendizaje de la lectura.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it for CLA

Ngl this is actually relatable🥲🥲🥲

[Emily Knickerbocker]

This is about a lazy owl whose mother wants him to learn to fly and so the owl finds a way down to the ground from the nest. I would use this to teach the order of events.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a funny little story about an owlet who thinks he is very clever. The narrative is somewhat cumulative and not too long, so younger children will enjoy the repetition. And moms will likely enjoy the fact that his mom had a watchful eye on him the entire time.

I certainly like the way she held him accountable for his actions, that there were consequences for his misbehavior. She still made him do what he was supposed to do in the first place (practice flying), and because he 'cheated' the first time around, flying back up to the nest was sure to be more difficult than flying down to the ground.

Overall, it's an entertaining story and the illustrations are adorable.

[Gemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ozzie the young Owl is encouraged by his mother to start to learn how to fly. Ozzie however does not want to learn and devises a plan to trick his mother into thinking he had practiced. Mother Owl has been watching Ozzies plan in action throughout the story and is aware Ozzie has been lying. When asked to show is new learning Ozzie is unable. The moral of the story can be used to show children it is better to learn rather than trying to get out of learning however it also opens up the idea of recognising another skill Ozzie has such as being wise.

[Carissa Wenzl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute modern fantasy picture book that I would recommend to second graders. In the story a young owl is pressured by his mother to learn how to fly, but he claims he wants to practice being wise. Learn how Lazy Ozzie finds out how to "fly" wisely in this short book. This story is also good at explaining there is often more than one way to solve a problem. Along those lines it could also be used to talk about how there is more than one way to live your life.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ozzie is a very lazy barn owl that does not want to do anything, let alone learn to fly. He comes up with a very clever plan that is sure to get him down to the ground, but that doesn’t seem to get past his mom, who knows just what he did. “Lazy Ozzie” is a great book for a read aloud because students can help tell the story as all the animals are named again and again as the pages are turned. I would use this book to help teach skills like sequencing and repetition.

[Sowmya Ramachandran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ozzie the owl thinks she's smart by enlisting the help of a series of farm animals to aid in her 'first solo flight'. But what she doesn't realise is mummy owl has been secretly watching her. so does Ozzie succeed in hoodwinking mommy? Cutesy illustrations, repetitions and all the farm animals and their habitats - a good read for the 5+ age kids

[Little Miss and the Legomeister · Rating 2 out of 5]

No, I didn't really like the cutsie illustrations, or Ozzie's roundabout way of getting to the ground, or his retribution at the end. Little Miss says she loved it. I'm starting to question her taste.

[Jacquey25 Hubler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book

[Chelsey Combs · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel like this book is poorly written. I don't recommend it. It's mainly about a mother wanting to teach her child a lesson, but it's not written well.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a cute plot and some great phrases. Overall, I wish the text was a little bit tighter. Love the illustrations - so fun for kids to find Mother Owl in each of the spreads.

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ozzie works harder at not learning to fly and attempting to out smart his mother.

[Kelly Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute picture book, but not very memorable.