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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Marvelously impossible exploits, November 18, 2008
This review is from: Otis: The Musical Owl (Paperback)
Are you in the mood for a high-flying animal hero? Meet Otis: The Musical Owl, whose exploits make him the toast of the animal kingdom. Otis was found as a tiny baby lying in a country road, and the Chappelle family nurtured him and delivered him to a rehabilitation center. There Otis learned to fly -- not just to fly, but to fly with such speed, precision and grace that he became a legend. When he was released to make his way in the world his one goal was to find out where he came from and what had happened to his family. Otis developed a love of music and enjoyed classical best of all. To an owl with a musical bent, music is everywhere -- coming from family homes, parties, solitary guitar strummers, children playing recorders. As he made his way back to Otsego County, New York, he enjoyed musical interludes along the way. Will Otis find out what happened to his family? Will he be reunited with his parents? Will his flying and leadership skills be up to the challenges he faces? If you read it for yourself, you'll be treated to some incredible animal hoe-downs and enjoy a delightful parable of perseverance and cooperation. Delightful as the story is, there are a couple of caveats here. Otis the Musical Owl may be targeted at the pre-teen reader, although some of the language and especially the detailed musical references could be beyond them. The high-flying fantasy would perhaps be better suited for a sophisticated pre-reader, though the lack of illustrations would be a problem. I read it as a fable and found it thought-provoking. The second issue is the sheer number of fantasy themes in the one book. A more tempered pace, more development of the secondary characters, and the stretching out of the elements into a few Otis stories might be a good idea. Author Joseph Chappelle gives us a terrifically engaging character but the book would have benefited from a more selective approach; as the White Queen said, "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." Otis is full of marvelously impossible exploits and we'd love a chance to believe them all. Linda Bulger, 2008
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Confusing, February 25, 2009
This review is from: Otis: The Musical Owl (Paperback)
This book is good until it switches perspective from a narrator telling the story about the owl, to the owl telling its own story. It's fine in the beginning, where it seems to be a tale set in something like real life. But then it gets plain weird. The owl is picked up by a family that thinks they are helping the owl, who they think is hurt. But the owl is really a baby and lost. Then the owl goes to a rehabilitation center, learns many things and comes back to where it was found to look for its family. I think I may be missing something in the story. Then all of sudden the Prince of Darkness and 41 Unicorns were mentioned... I had no idea what that was about.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Stories for Children Magazine 5 Star Review, February 9, 2009
This review is from: Otis: The Musical Owl (Paperback)
REVIEWED BY: Wayne Walker "In the State of New York, located between the Catskill Mountains and the Adirondack Mountains, sits a small village by the name of East Worcester." The Chappelle family lives on one of the mountains of East Worcester Township in a little brown log cabin. The daughter, Helwig, and her friend find a baby owl that appears to be injured. The Chappelles take it to a veterinarian, Dr. Wilhelm, and they name the owl Otis. Otis is eventually sent to an animal training center for rehabilitation. While there, Otis learns many unique traits, such as how to fly like a barn swallow, how to understand human language, how to communicate with all the other animals, and especially how to recognize the music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and others. When he returns to the area where he had been found, he learns from another owl named Mary that his family had been scattered by the same storm that injured him as a baby, so Otis starts looking for them. Will he ever find his father, mother, sister, and brother? People who enjoy animal stories should especially like this book. As a former music student and lover of classical music, I personally am grateful for the fact that an appreciation of the great music of western culture is emphasized. The author plays cello for the Albany Area Senior Orchestra. I also am thankful for the use of Biblical hymns, passages, and principles to underscore the "can do" spirit of the book. The admirable character traits of loyalty to friends, such as Otis's new ally Pee Wee, the little field mouse, and seeking to be a peace with others are also found in the story. The ending may seem a little fantastic, but then, after all, it is a fantasy book. Middle school age children will find this unique look into the animal kingdom quite fascinating.
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