Little Owl's Orange Scarf

by Tatyana Feeney

Little Owl loves doing sums, eating ice-cream, and riding his scooter. These are some of his favourite things. He has his favourite colours, too. And orange isn't one of them. So when Mummy knits a scarf as a surprise Little Owl knows that he definitely doesn't like it. It's itchy, long, and far too orange. After losing his scarf at the zoo, Mummy realizes that perhaps Little Owl should be involved in the choice and creation of a replacement. Her instincts are proved absolutely right. But whatever did happen to the orange scarf? Its fate is hinted at in this deftly-told humorous tale! A warm and witty yarn from the creator of Small Bunny's Blue Blanket, praised by The Telegraph as "deceptively simple and decidedly sweet".

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Birds, Knitting, Family

28 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Tatyana Feeney grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She studied art history at the University of North Carolina and design at the Art Institute of Atlanta before getting a BA in children's book illustration from NEWI in Wales. She is the author-illustrator of Small Bunny's Blue Blanket, as well as the illustrator of several books with Irish publishers. She lives in Trim, in County Meath, Ireland, with her husband, two children, and one small dog.

Reviews

[Archit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuteness overloaded!

The story of making of an orange scarf wakes up the child inside up. Enjoyed this much much more.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is really simply done, with some lovely effects from the scarf. It feels like the end lesson is more for the parents than the children, but that works every now and then.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ungrateful Little Owl thinks the orange scarf his mother knit for him is too scratchy. He tries “very hard to lose his new scarf” and finally manages it on a trip to the zoo. His mother lets him choose his replacement wool, a soft green. I liked the color blocks and the simple design, and the final reveal of what happened to the orange scarf is cute, but I’m not sure the message is one to support (pickiness vs. making do with what you have).

[Homegrown Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are on the cusp of scarf weather. So very close. Bug would wear a scarf everyday if I would let him but it’s still just a bit warm. That combined with his love for owls (I may have mentioned that once or twice) just secured that this book was well read before we returned it to the library. The story was cute and simple a perfect pairing with the illustrations that focused solely on three colors.

Little Owl’s mother kicks off the story by knitting a scarf for her son. However, her effort is met with some issues. Little Owl thinks it’s scratchy, much too orange, and much too long. He never wants to wear it and even tries to dispense with it in a (I like to think) Paddington inspired plot. All his efforts are in vain though until a trip to the zoo rids him of the cursed garment. This time he helps his mother pick out the yarn and knit the scarf. And it’s perfect.

The illustrations are made even more striking by Feeney’s use of only three colors: orange, teal, and black. The orange and teal are so complementary that their little contributions really accent the right bits on each page. Little Owl’s feathers have a teal underlay, providing the slight foreshadowing of what’s to come. Each drawing is simple and clear. The other animals that make an appearance are easy to identify, even for little ones. The best page is the wool (yarn) shop. Stacked floor to ceiling the giant skeins give me delicious chills. I get the same feeling when I walk into a fabric store. So many projects sit in the bolts of fabric waiting to be discovered. The wool store is just one example of how Feeney plays with the illustrations; another page has a scarf extending right past the end of the far page and ending on the next page. The balance perfectly accentuates the message of the story.

Including kids can be hard, Bug loves to “help” but it takes three times as long to get anything done with him. In the end it’s time worth spending. For days and days and days he spoke about helping me make trail mix and loves eating it when I pull it out because he helped make it. Or when we make his morning smoothie. He gobbles it up twice as fast if he’s been the one to push the buttons and hand me the spinach. We all have Little Owls who would just like us busy folks to remember that they too have opinions, ideas, and preferences. Ones that we’ve influenced and shaped but really are still theirs. Because being a parent is about raising good, loving, responsible, and independent Little Owls that will go into the world on their own one day. We do this by modeling that behaviour, by showing that others’ opinions matter, by taking the time to teach instead of just do. In the end, it’s all worth it.

Story Tips:

We snuggled up in a scarf while reading this but if you are handier than I and actually know how to knit than that would be a great pairing.

I need more!

Tatyana Feeney has a few books out. A couple have a similar feel to Little Owl: Small Elephant’s Bathtime, Small Bunny’s Blue Blanket, etc. She also works with Irish stories Cillian Agus An Ron (about a boy and his seal friend) and An Nollaig Sa Naigin (A Christmas story that follows a little boy growing up). For more information check out her website at: http://tatyanafeeney.com

[Zoe]

This is a very sweet picture book about an owl who does not like his orange scarf that his mum has made him. The ending of the story was really sweet as little owl leaves his scarf at the zoo and the final illustration shows a giraffe wearing it whilst smiling at little owl.
The illustrations are very simplistic and look hand drawn, however, I like this and feel it adds to the words on the page. After reading this book I feel that children could relate to parts of it and hold discussions about whether they like or dislike some of the activities that little owl likes doing. This would be a great way of developing younger children's vocabulary skills and use of full sentences. Furthermore, a few words are repeated within the book and this would further develop vocabulary skills.
As well as developing vocabulary skills it could also be used to explore adjectives because these are frequently used within the book to describe different objects. Also, it could be used to teach the early stages of inverted commas.
One of the features that I particularly liked within this book is the authors idea of using the scarf to make other objects as little owl did not like it. I found this could demonstrate aspects of imagination to a younger reader and inspire them to be creative and think out of the box.
Overall, a lovely read!

[Diane D · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5stars

You know how sometimes a scarf can feel too itchy, be the wrong color or just not right? Well, even a little owl can have the same problem. But, in this sweet story, Little Owl, tries to lose his itchy, too long and too orange scarf, but mommy owl always seems to find it. One day Little Owl thought it was lost for good when after a trip to the zoo, the scarf disappeared once again.

This time mommy owl couldn't find it, so she works with little owl to find justthe perfect yarn, in justthe right color and knits him a new scarf -- real soft too, but on their next trip to the zoo, the too-long old scarf reappears, wrapped cozily around the neck of a very long necked animal.

This story about compromise is cute, and the simple with colorful pencil style illustrations are sweet as well.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute! Little Owl hates his new scarf. It's too long, it's itchy, and it's way too orange! He tries to lose it everywhere, but his mother always finds it. One day he goes on a field trip to the zoo and comes home without it. When his mother searches everywhere for it and does not find it, they go to the yarn store together to make a new scarf for Little Owl. He gets to pick out the yarn, so he loves it when it's finished! It's soft, just the right length, and decidedly NOT orange. There is a cute twist in the end when you discover what actually happened to the orange scarf.

The only thing that bothers me at all about this book is the field trip. The main character is an animal. Wouldn't going to the zoo be like going to a prison? Food for thought.

Great for preschool or toddler storytimes.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one very understanding and kind mother. Little Owl doesn't like his new scarf, so he loses it on purpose, rather than get mad, his mother decides to make a new one with his help. The pictures and colours are first rate, and for the most part the story is cute. But the message is, on the one hand good (a mother should be kind to her child and should work together), but on the other hand bad (if a child doesn't like a present, they don't need to be grateful and they can purposefully lose it, therefore getting a better present). The positives outweigh the negative messages in the end though.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

How often do we receive a handmade gift from someone we love and think, I would love to accidentally lose this? Well, that is Little Owl's dilemma. I thought this was such a cute book, I love the simplicity of the colors and illustrations. And of course owls+knitting=love.
ps. Grandma, if you're reading this, everything you make for me is the exception. Never lose-worthy.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Little Owl gets an orange scarf from his mother, which he doesn't like, and conviently looses it at the zoo. Then the little owl and his mom pick out a different color yarn and make another scarf that Little Owl actually likes.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this illustrator's minimalist style and how she conveys so much with just a few lines. Here she gives a familiar story a fun ending and again the illustrations are enchanting.

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story with adorable illustrations and a nice twist at the end. For some reason, I found the font especially appealing here.

[Kaethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that the problem felt familiar, but the resolution didn't. Pretty pictures.

Sorry, I can't love it. I'm just not a fan of orange.

Library copy.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure I like one of the messages this book sends.

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the simple illustrations and simple colour scheme.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute story about an owl who hates his orange scarf that his mom made for him. He tries many ways to get rid of it. The only compliant I have about this book is while Iunderstand why it was done this way, I hate when the text is in a different color than black (the text is blueish in this book).

SPOILERS

The owl eventually really "loses" the scarf and his mom makes him a new scarf in the color he got to pick. Now the owl is happy and loves his new scarf. At the end we see in the illustration that the giraffe has the owl's old scarf. I am guessing the owl specifically gave it to the giraffe. It make me chuckle.

[Library Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Owl hates his orange scarf - it's too long, it's too scratchy, and it's too orange! Mama insists he wear it to keep warm, but when he wears it to the zoo on a school field trip it gets lost. Mama helps him make a new one, but what really happened to the orange one?? A fun group read aloud with fantastic illustrations.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Owl has an orange scarf the he despises. He tries to lose it, mail it to Grampa, etc. etc. Finally it gets lost on a field trip to the zoo. Mama wants him to be warm so she helps him make a new one, but we finally find out what really happened to the orange one. A fun group read aloud with awesome illustrations.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was adorable and definitely descriptive of my relationship with my daughter 😆. A little owl has an orange scarf. The mother wants the owl to wear the scarf. The owl doesn't want to wear the scarf. The owl loses the scarf at the zoo and picks out new yarn for a new scarf. Blue yarn. Completely different from the first scarf. I loved the ending! Great pictures.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Owl's mother knit him a scarf, but he didn't like that it was too long, too itchy and too orange. He tried to lose it but his mother always found it ... until the day he went to the zoo.
Funny and satisfying ending.

[DeA · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book for an orange themed storytime. The kids and parents got a good giggle from little owls antics about his very long itchy orange scarf. Recommend to parents and teachers with children 1-6 years of age.

[FM Family · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was cute, and quick and my daughter wanted to hear it a few times in a row because she loves owls. I liked the fact that the Mom owl realized she should listen to the little owl's concerns and work on something together. Cute images and a light, sweet story

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mommy Owl knits Little Owl a scarf that he does not want. He manages to loose it at the zoo and Mommy makes a new scarf. Large text and simple sentences makes this a great storytime read.

2020 storytime theme: Warm Clothes

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

So adorable!!! One of my new favorites! Little owl does not like the scarf his mom surprised him with, it was itchy, too long, and too orange, and does everything he can to lose the scarf. When the scarf really does go missing, he gets to help his mom make a new one that he loves.

[Seema Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetic, linear drawings show an owl learning to knit from his mama owl. Very sweet book about learning from a parent.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute little board book. Beautiful contrast color illustrations. Sweet, simple little story. My 2 year old likes this one and now loves repeating "owl owl owl"!

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great reminder that children have preferences too!

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the cutest owl book ever! The last page just made me so happy when the giraffe got the big orange scarf. Loved!

[Ginny Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, very short book. (20 pgs). I’d hate my scarf if it was TN orange too. Lol

[Yetiboy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute little story. Very simple art, your child might enjoy emulating with pencil and crayons.