Customer Reviews

Otis: The Musical Owl

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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

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.

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.

In this story, Hedwig Chappelle and her friend go for a walk and find along the road an owl who appears to be injured. Quickly they return home and Hedwig's mother rescues the owl, who the next day is taken to the vet. Finding out that the owl probably has lost its mother the Chappelle's turn it over to an animal rehabilitator who will teach it to live in the wild.
Otis is different from other owls or animals for that matter. He is a determined owl who definitely will make the most of his life. Otis demonstrates talent in many areas, he understands the speech of many animals and of humans, and he is a very quick learner in his survival skills. Otis also has a love for music, such as Bach, Mozart, and Chopin. All of this causes Otis to become a legend among the animal kingdom and humans.
However, Otis feels inside that he must try to find out what happened to his mother, and if he has any other family. Once he is ready to be on his own he travels to where he was rescues and begins his search. It is here that he enlists the help of other wild creatures who usually are predator and prey, to help him in his quest. Will this work, and will Otis find his roots?
"Otis, The Musical Owl," is definitely a different story. I would have liked to have seen some illustrations through the book as I feel this would have given the story a nice lift. It has a twirl of mystical in it, and I did like the way a common purpose united the animals together for that cause. Also, I liked the fact that Otis respected living creatures, even to the point of knowing killing another animal for sport is not what should be done, even among the animal kingdom. The ending was upbeat and happy and promised more adventures in the future for Otis

One afternoon Hedwig Chappelle and her friend go for a walk and stumble upon a baby great horned owl. He's quickly picked up by Mr. Chappelle taken to a vet the next day. The vet gives the owl a clean bill of health and after unsuccessfully trying to return the owl to where they found him the family names him Otis and turns him over to an animal rehabilitator.

There Otis learns many things such as flying expertly and loving great music to understanding English and the language of other animals. Once Otis is released to the wild he travels back to visit the Chappelle family and begins a search to find his family with the help of thousands of animals that come from the east, west, north and south and even one special visitor from the sky.

The book has a very good premise and I liked it for the most part however the writing didn't fulfill its potential. The storyline is somewhat choppy and I get that it's a fantasy but some of the story is too over the top with a weird bit of out of place religion thrown in at the end. If you run across this book somewhere I'd say you should take the opportunity to read it but in my opinion I wouldn't recommend running out to buy it.

While this book has its' moments and will appeal to children, it lacks that intangible magic that the best children's books exude. Part of this is due to the lack of illustrations; the only visual aid to the story is the picture on the front cover. This is generally a hindrance to children's stories, especially those that involve animals.
Otis is an owl that is discovered by Hedwig Chappelle and her friend. Otis is on the ground and appears injured, so Hedwig and her friend run to fetch her mother. Mrs. Chappelle captures Otis in a sack and takes him to the vet, only to be told that he is not flying because he is too young. Fortunately, an animal rehabilitator lives nearby and he takes Otis and teaches him how to survive in the wild.
While he is in "school" Otis proves to be a very bright student, learning much beyond what the ordinary owls learn, including an appreciation of music. Since Otis demonstrates so much talent, his name is known throughout the animal kingdom of Otsego County in New York. Feeling a need to discover his roots, Otis goes on a search for his parents and he enlists the aid of all the wild creatures. Although there are some exceptions, creatures that would ordinarily be enmeshed in their predator-prey cycle suspend that to help Otis and to gather together and have a party. This gets a bit literarily out of hand when suddenly forty-one golden unicorns arrive, led by Heather, a woman that has just presided over the World Conference of Extinct, Almost Extinct and Mythical Animals. Otis is eventually reunited with his parents and he learns the circumstances whereby he was "orphaned." At the end, a religious theme is interjected into the story.
Fantasy stories where animals cooperate can be enjoyable, however they must stay within some bounds, as there is a limit to how much animal fantasy can be included in a story. In my opinion, the limit is exceeded here and the lack of illustrations is a serious flaw.

The cover of this book about Otis, the owl, and the description of the book on the back cover are intriguing enough to make one want to look inside to see what this story is all about. The first chapter accounts what seems to be a real life owl rescue. After that, the story takes a magical turn as the author (the rescuer?) imagines the life of the owl once he is rehabilitated and set free.
This Great Horned Owl exhibits a very special gentleness on the many journeys (both literal and figurative) that he makes through the mountains of Central New York State. Otis' accomplishments - as a musician (Otis has eclectic tastes ranging from Bach to James Brown), an animal mediator, an accomplished flyer, and as a being in serach of life's meaning - make this book a wonderful read for children and adults alike.
My grandchildren enjoyed the story of Otis' rescue and his adventures as he searches for his family. And I found myself pondering the many questions that the story of Otis raisers - questions about good and evil, about principles for living, and about what exits beyond our galaxy.