  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 01/01/2015 K-Gr 2—Hoot Owl explains that he is hungry and proud of his creative disguises employed to capture prey. He assembles a carrot costume in pursuit of rabbit and becomes an ornamental birdbath to nab a pigeon. He is totally unsuccessful until he dons waiter's attire and devours….a pizza! The owl's braggadocio and camouflage amuse throughout. Jullien's spreads feature primary colors and mostly black backgrounds that feature playfully rounded cartoon characters. Use this read-aloud for levity during a study of nocturnal animals or when discussing different ways to approach a problem.—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Bulletin for the Center... - 04/01/2015 At least in his own mind, Hoot Owl has all the stealthy craft of a ninja. He’s convinced he can catch a rabbit by disguising himself as a carrot (nope), a lamb by disguising himself as a ewe (nuh-uh), a pigeon by disguising himself as a birdbath (nice try). Finally, he hits on his master stroke-he disguises himself as a waiter to attack a pizza, and the unsuspecting pizza fails to flee and yields its pepperoni to Hoot Owl’s “deadly-dangerous beak.” Hoot Owl’s grandiloquent narration (“I swoop through the bleak blackness like a wolf in the air”) will make for comic reading aloud, especially when contrasted with his failures, and there’s a lilting rhythm in the recurring refrain and careful structure. The digitally created art uses thick, painterly black outlines contour its simple elements, giving the scenes a bit of a flannel-board feel; scarlet Hoot Owl’s insistently peering eyes nicely balance between manic intensity and dorky overfocus, and though it’s confusing that some of the owl’s disguises are actually pretty good, the art is zesty and high-impact. Fans of DaCosta’s Nighttime Ninja will appreciate Hoot Owl’s melodramatic pursuit, and they may be inspired to emulate his hunt of a helpless pizza. DS - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
 |