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Summary
Summary
It's people versus owls in this laugh-out-loud story about one family's love for a special little owl, from bestselling nature writer and Newbery Medal winner Jean Craighead George!
Borden Watson's father is out of job, and it's all the spotted owls' fault. The birds are endangered, which means loggers, like Mr. Watson, are no longer allowed to cut down trees.
It doesn't make sense to Borden. Why are owls being put first over the citizens?
But when Borden finds an owlet in the forest who needs his care, he brings it back home--much to Mr. Watson's displeasure. Hilarious chaos soon ensues, as the tiny owl makes big changes in this logging family's home, and makes his way into their hearts.
This heartwarming story is a great way for young readers to learn about important topics, like endangered species, conservation, and environmentalism.
Author Notes
Jean Craighead George was born on July 2, 1919 in Washington, D.C. She received degrees in English and science from Pennsylvania State University. She began her career as a reporter for the International News Service. In the 1940s she was a member of the White House press corps for The Washington Post.
During her lifetime, she wrote over 100 novels including My Side of the Mountain, which was a 1960 Newbery Honor Book, On the Far Side of the Mountain, Julie of the Wolves, which won the Newbery Medal, Julie, and Julie's Wolf Pack. She also wrote two guides to cooking with wild foods and an autobiography entitled Journey Inward. In 1991, she became the first winner of the School Library Media Section of the New York Library Association's Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature. She died on May 15, 2012 at the age of 92.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Horn Book Review
Borden Watson tries to shoot a spotted owl but instead ends up saving a starving owlet. As the owlet becomes part of the family, both Borden and his out-of-work logger father are changed. The family draw closer when Borden and his sister see their father in a new light, and the future becomes secure with a new job in the offing. The ending is a bit too pat for believability. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 3^-5. Because his father has lost his job logging in the old-growth forests of northern California, Borden vows to destroy any spotted owl he sees. When he discovers an owlet lying on the ground, he decides to rescue it, assuming it is a barred owl and, therefore, not his sworn enemy. The whole family takes a liking to Bardy, especially Dad, who plans to use him in court to demonstrate what a kindhearted soul he is when he must fight charges of assaulting a conservationist. As the owlet matures, it becomes clear that it is really a spotted owl, but by this time, Dad and Borden have both come to realize how important the creature is to a healthy ecosystem. Although the plot is predictable and George's environmental views are well known, Bardy's antics are engaging and informative. A good choice as a read-aloud for classes studying owls or endangered species. --Kay Weisman
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-Due to the endangered status of the spotted owls, Borden's father loses his logging job cutting down trees in the northern California forests where the owls live. Borden blames the spotted owls for his dad's unemployment, and vows to kill the few remaining ones of their kind. On a spotted owl hunting expedition in the forest, Borden finds a lost owlet. Noting that it is spot-free, Borden decides to take it home and care for it. Soon the whole family loves the little owlet, including Borden's angry and bitter father. But as the owl matures, it starts to show spots, and Borden realizes he has been harboring a spotted owlÄhis dreaded enemyÄall along. This audio version of Jean Craighead George's book (HarperCollins, 1995) is engagingly narrated by actor/playwright Ed Sala. His expressive voice puts some kick into this enjoyable, but predictable story. Sala does an especially nice job of making the father seem multidimensional, giving him a tenderness and gruffness that seem completely compatible. Though not a mandatory purchase, this story intersperses information about spotted owls and the problems with deforestation, making it especially well-suited for collections supporting curriculums with ecology units.-Lori Craft, Downers Grove Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
An out-of-work logger amazes his family by caring for a rare spotted owl chick in this informative, agenda-laden story. Forbidden to log public lands in the spotted owl's Pacific Coast territory, the loggers around the Trinity National Forest have fallen on hard times. When Borden Watson brings home a starving baby owl, his angry father Leon wants to wring its neck at first, but holds off, thinking it might belong to a more common species. Soon Leon is feeding it chopped mice, getting up at 1 a.m. to cuddle and watch TV with it, and even giving it flying lessons. George displays her usual profound knowledge of animal behavior, but allows her characters to stop at the drop of a hat to lecture one another on environmental issues or rehearse arguments for and against logging. Solidly in the conservationist camp, George (Everglades, p. 557, etc.) gives Leon some points; he asserts that destructive timbering practices actually conformed to government regulations in the past, and shows himself to be no ignorant villain, but a caring, knowledgeable forester. The book is edifying, if not particularly engrossing; David Klass's California Blue (1994) is aimed at older readers, but wraps similar themes in a stronger story. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
