Little Owl's Orange Scarf by Tatyana Feeney
| Little Owl's Orange Scarf by Tatyana Feeney | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: A sweet story, perhaps best shared between any knitting grandmothers and their grandchildren! | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: May 2013 |
| Publisher: OUP Oxford | |
| ISBN: 978-0192794543 | |
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Little Owl's Mummy knitted him a scarf. A long, itchy, orange scarf, and Little Owl does not like it! He tries to get rid of it, using it as wrapping for a gift, and hiding it in a suitcase bound for Peru, but no luck! Mummy finds it every time. Then one day, Little Owl goes on a school visit to the zoo and he comes home without his scarf. What will Mummy say?
This is a delightfully simple story, told in short sentences that are easy to understand for our littlest readers. I don't know if so many children nowadays experience the joys of receiving hand-knit items for Christmas and Birthdays. My two have drawers overflowing with beautiful cardigans and jumpers and hats and scarves as my mum is a prolific knitter. Fortunately she chooses nice, soft, pretty wool so we don't end up with any rejected items, but I do remember when I was little having certain items of handmade clothing that I would avoid because they were itchy or didn't fit very well! This is Little Owl's problem. We're introduced to him, seeing all the things he loves like doing sums, eating ice-cream and riding his scooter. We're also told that he usually loves surprises, but not when it came to his new orange scarf!
After the scarf goes missing at the zoo, Mummy Owl calls them up to ask if anyone has found it, but no one has. So Mummy Owl says she will make another scarf, and that this time they will do it together. So Little Owl gets to go to the wool shop to choose his wool, and Mummy Owl works very hard to make him a lovely, soft scarf that is just long enough, and this time Little Owl loves it! On the final page we see Little Owl, wearing his new scarf, on a return visit to the zoo, saying hello to a giraffe. You can probably guess what is wound around the giraffe's neck!
The illustrations are sweet and, like the text, very simple. Tatyana Feeney has used only three colours - orange, a sort of sea-green and grey. Yet somehow each picture comes to life and there's something charming about the simplicity. Little Owl is adorable with his flat top head and little tufts of feathers on each side. My favourite picture is of Little Owl relating what happened on his trip to the zoo with a speech bubble above his head and inside it are pictures of a lion, an elephant, a crocodile and a giraffe, all making their relevant noise. I also like the picture of Mummy Owl sitting on top of a rather large telephone, calling the zoo to try and find the orange scarf. Somehow, as I read, I accepted the fact that Owls can knit, and use a rotary dial telephone...I suppose I read a lot of children's picture books so I just go with the flow on these things!
This is a funny, charming little tale, perfect for bedtime reading.
You might also enjoy another of Tatyana Feeney's books Small Bunny's Blue Blanket
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You can read more book reviews or buy Little Owl's Orange Scarf by Tatyana Feeney at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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