Owl Moon — Tim Warnes (2024)

(Philomel Books, 1987)

Good to Read for:

• creating calm before bed

• its sense of adventure

• nurturing a sense of wonder

I thought I’d continue last week’s theme (night walking) and share the magicalOwl Moonby Jane Yolen (illustrated by John Schoenherr) with you.

Owl Moonis a gentle, calm story. I discovered (and first read) it in the children’s library at the University of Roehampton while waiting, with a considerable amount of trepidation, to be interviewed for a teacher training course in the early ’90s. I was a nervous wreck. But this picture book – telling the simple story of a child’s first owling trip with their father – transported me somewhere altogether more appealing: a shadowy forest, blanketed in snow,

That first encounter withOwl Moonhas stuck with me. I’ve often thought of it but only recently bought myself a copy. One review describes the book as haunting (defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as ‘having qualities (such as sadness or beauty) that linger in the memory: not easily forgotten’), which is certainly my experience of it.

This haunting quality seems apt, given the subject matter. Father and child, braving the night searching for the magnificent Great Horned Owl. Yolen explains how she based it on a family tradition:“The father is my husband David, the child our daughter Heidi,”she explains. “It’s not an exact story of David taking Heidi out owling, but an amalgam of many such trips he did with all of our children.”

I have a penchant for owls. (Find more of my favourite owl-themed picture books listed at the end of this article.)

Always have, always will.

My first owl encounter was also as a child. It’s embedded deep in my memory, and I can clearly picture it still. It was Hallowe’en of all nights, and I was riding in the back of the car. The Barn Owl ghosted straight towards us, as bright as the moon in our headlights, before banking away at the last moment – and I still thrill at spotting one. I had the good fortune to spot a Short-eared Owl on Portland twice last December. I guess you could call me an owler – ‘one of that band of ornithological fanatics who have fallen under the owl’s spell.’ [The Owl Papers].

Owl Moonis a picture book as a poem. "The very act of going out with a child into the deep woods to call down owls is sheer poetry,"explains Yolen. "So the only response to it has to be as a poem."

The resulting story is like a distillation of a magical night. Both the language and images are spare and graceful, yet, this magical book is rich and meaningful at the same time. Schoenherr's illustrations use the blank, white paper to create a startling contrast between the moonlit snow and the dense, dark trees. (Which is one reason why they remind me of Andrew Wyeth's paintings.)

It was late one winter night,

long past my bedtime,

when Pa and I went owling.

There was no wind.

The trees stood still as giant statues.

And the moon was so bright

the sky seemed to shine.

Leaving their farmhouse behind, father and daughter head for the dark woods, crunching over crisp snow ‘whiter than the milk in a cereal bowl.’

Despite being bundled in warm clothes, our narrator describes the feel of the cold – ‘as if someone’s icy hand was palm-down on my back.’ The descriptions are beautiful and poetic – yet feel appropriate for the child.

A great sense of expectancy builds the deeper into the woods they go. (As withThe Night Walk, kids will enjoy searching the shadows for hidden nocturnal creatures who watch the quiet owlers pass by – fox, fieldmouse and racoon, for example.) Fear is alluded to, but it still feels safe thanks to Pa’s abiding presence, who walks hand in hand with his daughter.

The shadows were the blackest things I had ever seen.

…

I didn’t ask

what kinds of things

hide behind black trees

in the middle of the night.

When you go owling

you have to be brave.

You also have to be patient (which, for me, is part of the joy of birdwatching). Nothing is guaranteed.

Fortunately, Pa has a decent trick up his sleeve!

And then Pa called:

“Whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooooo.

Whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooooo.”

…

an echo

came threading its way

through the trees.

“Whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooooo.”

To describe [the Great Horned Owl] requires mainly the superlative case. It is the largest and heaviest of all North American owl species. It is also far and away the most powerful of all our owls. If you ever have the opportunity to hold a Great Horned Owl, you will come away comparing the strength of its talons to a locking vise grip, or perhaps a steel claw trap…..Odor of skunk, fang of viper, claw of eagle, or army of crow, [Great Horned Owls] go undaunted. [This owl] is seemingly not acquainted with fear.

This is the (rather formidable) owl that Pa and his daughter hope to see! (She said you had to be brave!)

Pa and the owl hoot to one another, ‘just as if [they]/were talking about supper/or about the woods/or the moon/or the cold.’

The owl’s calls come closer…

All of a sudden

an owl shadow,

part of the big tree shadow,

lifted off

and flew right over us.

…

The shadow hooted again.

You won’t learn much about the habits of owls [fromOwl Moon], wrote Paul Johnson in theNew York Times, ‘but you will learn everything there is to know about the requirements and rewards of looking for owls.’

What are they?

When you go owling

you don’t need words

or warm

or anything but hope.

That’s what Pa says.

The kind of hope

that flies

on silent wings

under a shining Owl Moon.

(Philomel Books, 1987)

Good to Read for:

• creating calm before bed

• its sense of adventure

• nurturing a sense of wonder

• I’m Not Cute! by Jonathan Allen

• A Bit Lost by Chris Haughton

• Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood

• Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor & Jean Jullien

• Owl Babies by Martin Waddell & Patrick Benson

• Bear’s New Friend by Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman

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Owl Moonby Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenherr (Philomel Books, 1987)

Jane Yolen (janeyolen.com)

Author Spotlight: Jane Yolen (kidlit411.com)

Call of Great Horned Owl: Xeno-Canto (Xeno-canto.org)

The Owl Papersby Jonathan Evan Maslow (Penguin, 1983)

Birds, books and fatherhood: An interview with Jane Yolen (patriachmagazine.com, 20 April 2020)

Owl Moon review, the New York Times

© 2022 BY TIM WARNES

(UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED)

****

USE OF THIRD PARTY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FALLS UNDER FAIR USE/FAIR DEALING PRACTICE.