Owl Babies by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Patrick Benson

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Patrick Benson

Rating: 4.5 stars

I was practicing the art of saying no the other day to my kids, and then I said yes to myself.  Please don't tell them!  It'll be our little secret.


Yesterday was pretty hot around here, and the afternoon found all of us restless for our varied reasons, tired of being inside our house, needing Something Else.  Having called the usual suspects (aka my closest mom friends) and determined that their houses were not available for raiding and plunging, we headed to the bookstore.

"Remember!" I said to the kids in my kind-but-mean voice. "We're no going to buy ANYTHING for ourselves!  Just three books for your cousin for his birthday!"  I think I said this 200 times, knowing that nothing sinks in with them until you hit three digits.

In case you're wondering, yes, we clean up after ourselves.

So we strolled around, reading this and that, Kiefer screeching at all the animal pictures.  Each kid found a book with a million buttons on it--these books are a favorite to play with at bookstores because I sure don't let them come home...  Everyone was happy reading or looking through something, though Kiefer found my big ol' purse more interesting than any books.  Fine!  No problem!  We weren't at home, and I was happy.  We all were.  Amazing what a little change of scenery can do.

But, I lied to my kids.  I actually bought two books in addition to the birthday books.  I bought Summer, one of my all-time favorite books.  The words and pictures make me happy, and I deserve to have something in my shelf that makes me happy should I need a little pick-me-up.  And if all that is is a children's book, why not?!  And tomorrow is the first official day of summer, so...  I just couldn't resist.

My favorite page.

The second was the great Owl Babies.  Kiefer has about three brand new things in his entire room--everything else is a hand-me-down from somebody.  I bought a copy of this book for Ben, but he destroyed it (not shocking). I love it because the whole thing could take place a few feet outside our house.

Three baby owls--Sarah, Percy, Bill--wake up to find their mom missing.  They think about what to do, trying to be brave despite being afraid.  They huddle together and then their mom comes home.  "Soft and silent she swooped through the night, to Sarah and Percy and Bill.  'Mommy!'  They cried and they flapped and they danced..."  The book reminds me of how much I love coming home to my kids.  The excitement over me--just me!--is so sweet and touching.

Therefore, thanks to a hot, restless afternoon, Kiefer has one new book in his room.  Don't want to go crazy and spoil the little guy.  Just one.