Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor and Jean Jullien
| Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor and Jean Jullien | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Rachael Spencer
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| Summary: A wickedly funny book about Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise on a deadly mission to find some dinner! Fly like Hoot Owl himself to get your hands on a copy of this book, because I would go so far as to guarantee that it will make you laugh. Will he ever get anything to eat? You'll just have to find out for yourself. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 48 | Date: March 2015 |
| Publisher: Walker Books | |
| ISBN: 9781406348415 | |
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As quick as a shooting star, like a wolf in the air, who could it be? It’s Hoot Owl! And Hoot Owl is hungry. Owls are well known for being wise, but what people don’t know is that Hoot Owl is also the Master of Disguise; a skill which he’s going to use to use to get himself some dinner. The question is, will it work? And what will he be eating for dinner? I don’t think you’ll be able to guess...
This book is so much fun to read, largely because it has clearly been written with adults in mind as well as children. It has a wickedly dry sense of humour which runs from start to finish of the book, giving plenty of room for whoever is reading to play and interpret the words and intonations differently. I, for instance, have taken to giving Hoot Owl a mysterious superhero villain persona which seems to match his over-the-top language and terrifying mission! But this is the joy of books which don’t talk down to kids, they can be interpreted in many different ways and so often children will enjoy them much more than text which is really simplified for their benefit.
The images are great, simple but still greatly funny, matching the text perfectly. Hoot Owl himself is a brilliant illustration; somehow he manages to look sinister and comic both at the same time, and the simplicity of his shape makes all the various disguises even funnier. The twist at the end of the story is absolutely classic and only serves to make Hoot Owl an even better comedic character for kids. I really hope that he does return for another night-time mission because I’d love to know what he would disguise himself as next - and for what reason!
It’s quite rare to find a book which is written so well across the age range to make it equally enjoyable for adult and children, but I’m almost sure that I enjoy reading this more than my son enjoys listening to it, which is saying something as he adores it. I would love to get a chance to read this to a whole group of four or five-year-olds because I imagine it would be so much fun with plenty of laughter. Hoot Owl is an instant hit for me, and I hope very much that he is for you, too!
For more from Julien, have a look at Ralf.
If humour is your bag, then a couple of other picture books which you might really enjoy are The Slightly Annoying Elephant by David Walliams and Tony Ross and This Book Just Ate My Dog by Richard Byrne. We also enjoyed Fiddlesticks! by Sean Taylor and Sally Anne Garland and The Snowbear by Sean Taylor and Claire Alexander.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor and Jean Jullien at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor and Jean Jullien at Amazon.com.
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