I’m thrilled to have author Maria Gianferrai guest post for me today on her newest picture book Whoo-ku Haiku: A Great Horned Owl Story and a book list of owl books for kids. We are also giving away a copy of her book. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom.
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To celebrate all things owl, as well as the release of my latest book, Whoo-ku Haiku: A Great Horned Owl Story, with gorgeous illustrations by Jonathan Voss, I’ll be sharing my owl-time my favorite owl books.
Whoo-ku Haiku: A Great Horned Owl Story by Maria Gianferrai, illustrated by Jonathan Voss
The story of a Great Horned Owl family is told through haiku poems in this engaging and beautifully illustrated picture book. Maria’s use of poetry heightens the drama of the owl family as they nest, lay eggs, and raise a young owlet family. I especially love the endnote with interesting owl facts. This book perfectly combines April poetry month with owl STEM, particularly for classrooms that dissect an owl pellet, like my kids did in 5th grade (and again in high school). [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Time to take flight!
6 Favorite Owl Children’s Books
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenherr
A timeless classic and lyrical lullaby of a father-daughter night-time owl prowl, and the Great horned owl that answers their call. I didn’t learn until many years later that the girl in the story was modeled on Jane’s daughter and occasional writing partner, kidlit author, Heidi Stemple, just as the father was based on her late husband and birder, David Stemple. The Yolen-Stemples are a bird-loving family. [picture book, ages 3 and up]
Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls by Paul Bannick
Bannick is an award-winning wildlife photographer and conservationist, and this book is full of stunning and dynamic owl photos and is a tribute to owls of all kinds whose range is in North America. I saw him speak a few years ago at an event sponsored by my local wildlife group, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, and learned so many things I hadn’t known about owls. [adult nonfiction]
The Barn Owls by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray
A poetic story of a hundred-year-old barn in a field of wheat, and the barn owls who have lived there, dozing in the scent of wheat, and whose eggs have hatched “one by one/white and warm,” and who have hunted there, “one hundred years at least.” [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Owling: Enter the World of the Mysterious Birds of the Night by Mark Wilson
If you love owls and want to learn more about them and how to identify them by sound and sight, this should be your go-to resource. It’s chock full of all kinds of fascinating information on owl anatomy, as well as their nesting and hunting habits. [middle grade nonfiction, ages 8 and up]
Snowy Owl Invasion by Sandra Markle
I loved this book and learning about a scientific phenomenon known as an irruption, when snowy owls, which usually reside in the Arctic and prey on lemmings, suddenly start showing up as far south as Florida! I live in the northern Virginia area, and I remember them turning up in DC back in 2014. They also sometimes end up at airports, since the wide-open spaces, scientists suspect, may seem similar to the Arctic tundra. [middle grade nonfiction, ages 9 and up]
Owl Sees Owl by Laura Godwin, illustrated by Rob Dunlavey
This is the perfect cozy bedtime story for the youngest readers and listeners. Cleverly written as a reverso poem with spare and poetic text, an owlet leaves the nest: “Home/Mama/Brother/Sister,” is startled by its own reflection in a pond, “Owl/Sees/Owl,” and returns to the nest: “Sister/Brother/Mama/Home.” [picture book, ages 3 and up]
So, now you’ve heard owl about it. I hope these books will be flying off the library and bookstore shelves, and into your homes and hearts!
And I hope you will enjoy Whoo-Ku Haiku, exquisitely illustrated by Jonathan Voss, as you can see in this gorgeous illustration. The story is about a family of Great horned owls as they nest, hunt, protect, and raise their owlets, written in a series of haiku poems. GP Putnam’s Sons has graciously offered to supply a giveaway book (US residents only).
Thanks for letting me rave about owls, Mia!
Whoo-ku Haiku: A Great Horned Owl Story GIVEAWAY!
Whoo-ku Haiku: A Great Horned Owl Story giveaway. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter below. We can only mail to U.S. and AFO addresses.
p.s. Another owl picture book…
My Best Friend by Rob Hodgson
Mouse may be confused. Is Giant Owl Mouse’s best friend or is Giant Owl interested in something besides friendship? This is a humorous take on “frenemies.” [picture book, ages 4 and up]
p.p.s. Related posts:
Baltimore the Snowy Owl & Owl Books for Kids
Science of Owls and Bats Through Picture Books
All About Hummingbirds: A Unit for Kids
Birds of North Captiva, Florida, Saved From Extinction!
Non Fiction for Kids: True or False series Storms, Birds (ages 6-9)
WHOO’s Maria Gianferrari? She’s a self-proclaimed bird nerd with a special fondness for raptors. Her love affair with birds began in 7th grade science class when her teacher, Mr. Lefebvre, initiated a bird count. While walking in her neighborhood, Maria’s always on the lookout for all kinds of birds, and she loves searching winter treetops for nests in her northern Virginia neighborhood where she lives with her German-scientist husband and German-speaking daughter. This is her first book with GP Putnam’s Sons.
She’s also the author of another bird book, Hawk Rising. To learn more about Maria, please visit her website: mariagianferrari.com.
To examine any book more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book.
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p.s. Related posts:
Baltimore the Snowy Owl & Owl Books for Kids
Science of Owls and Bats Through Picture Books
All About Hummingbirds: A Unit for Kids
Birds of North Captiva, Florida, Saved From Extinction!
Free Bird Journal (from Doodles and Jots)
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Children’s Book Activities on Pinterest.
My books:
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
We see eagles once in a while and hawks. I live in the country in a rural area, so we see a lot of vultures.
One of my favorite kinds of bird, Audrey! Where do you live? I live in northern VA and we have tons of vultures due to the high population of white-tailed deer, both black and turkey vultures. I love to watch them soar on thermals. Thanks for commenting!
This is a lovely list of bird books. We see cardinals, bluebirds, robins, bluejays, mourning doves, barn owls, ospreys, and bald eagles on a regular basis.
I love ospreys!! I haven’t seen any barn owls in person yet, but we recently spotted a barred owl on a night-time drive. Cool creatures!!
Herons are very popular here.
Love them! They look positively prehistoric when they’re flying. Love how their legs stick straight out!
We have Great Horned Owls, Screech Owls, hawks, Bald Eagles, and many northern song birds here, as well as water birds like herons, gulls, egrets, ducks, and geese.
Hi Danielle!! Lucky you! Screech owls are so small. I love egrets too. Are they snowy egrets? I love how they have black legs & yellow feet :).
Thanks so much for having me here, Mia!! Virtual hugs OOOOOO!
Gosh, I so wish my library and bookstore was still open!!! These all look wonderful and particularly Whoo-Ku Haiku. I cannot wait to get them all for my class! 🙂
Thanks, Beth! Perhaps some of them already have e-book versions that you could share?
Some wonderful owl picture books featured here – whooo could resist reading these?
Great owl books! OWL BABIES by Martin Waddell & Patrick Benson, too, is a favorite. (I’ve been reading it via phone to some little ones during stay-at-home: it has a reassuring msg for young children!)
Hello again, Patricia :). Whoooos the best commenter?! Thank you!!
Woops! Looks like I replied in the wrong place ;). Owl Babies was a favorite of my then toddler’s. We had a very well-loved board book version of it.
These books look amazing!!! They would go perfectly with my owl themed classroom!
The illustrations are beautiful!
Around our house in Maryland we see a lot of robins, but also have a family of cardinals in the trees behind our house.
This looks like it’s an incredible book. I’ve got just about everything but owls around me!