Customer Reviews

Owly Volume 2: Just A Little Blue

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The second volume of Andy Runton's Owly has all the charm, wit, and soft moral messages of the first book. Told without benefit of any text, Andy Runton instead uses word balloons with pictures as his method of dialogue to convey his character's words and emotions. Owly is joined by his new friend from the first book "wormy" in their quest to make new friends. This time he's attracting a young bird with birdseed. But when the mother bird sees Owly, she immediately goes on the offensive, knowing that owls are predators.

Owly and Wormy decide to build the birds a birdhouse and even sacrifice their wooden wagon to make one large enough. They are proud of their work but still the mother bird is having none of it. Owly then thinks he's figured it out and paints a small little welcome sign on the front of the birdhouse. But Owly and Wormy are disappointed when they find the sign lying on the ground, broken in half and mother bird again going on the attack and driving Owly away. The friends are distraught and take the birdhouse back to Owly's tree and put it away in the closet, seemingly for good. But now the poor bird family finds themselves shivering and wet from the cold. A nice house sure would be great! When a storm blows three new baby birds out of the nest, Owly comes to the rescue but the third is still missing. Can Owly and Wormy locate the missing baby bird? How will mother bird treat them now?

Owly is not so much a graphic novel in the traditional sense but truly a wonderful children's book told solely through cartooning. We see the value of friendship and never giving up when it comes to helping others. And we also see the pitfalls of judging people too hastily. Andy Runton's unique cartooning style drives the book. At once very simplistic and yet able to express such a wide range of emotions from all his characters. This book is pure charm and shows the incredible talent that is out there among the smaller press community. Another winner!

We have the 1st 3 Owly books, and my 4 year old daughter loves to "read" it to her 2 year old sister, who asks for it every day and night. They even play Owly games at the playground. Very sweet.

...these books are incredible. I literally started crying.

So booklist says grades 3 to 5, and instincts say "for kids and maybe young girls" but I can't help but love Owly. I bought this book for both my daughter and wife and I swear I almost shed a tear while reading it.

Especially for kids, it teaches an important lesson about friendship and sacrifice, as Owly and his little companion give up something they love to try to help a little forest friend out. Even when rebuffed they still try to do the right thing and help. OF COURSE everything turns out well in the end and everyone learns a little lesson about how to be a good friend. And somehow it manages not to be too corny or silly.

This book is perfect for ANYONE with a heart and I'm sure Mr. Runton's next book will be just as beautiful. I plan on buying it the day it comes out!

These little Owly books are just right. Too complex to breeze through quickly, yet nothing like most graphic novels for Young adults, they are pure fun. In this one, Owly and his worm pal try to help a bluebird family. When they are rebuffed, they are both a little blue. Later, disaster strikes and Owly and worm both render vital services to the bluebirds and new friendships are formed. A sweet story with a gentle lesson about the joy that comes from helping others.

The second volume of Andy Runton's Owly has all the charm, wit, and soft moral messages of the first book.

I think anyone with a young reader in their life should get a copy of OWLY to share. Well before a child could actually read the text of a book they could follow along with the illustrated adventures of Owly! I'm confident this story (and perhaps more importantly the visual storytelling method seen here) will inspire children to read and help them learn the language of visual storytelling.

I bought this book based on the recommendation from the comic book store guy. It was a huge hit.

Owly's ambivalent relationship with nature is a central theme of the stories. At times beautiful, then terrifying, nature presents conflict and it's Owly's compassionate, problem-solving way of dealing with it that makes the stories so interesting.

Just a Little Blue is my personal favorite but the first two are also good. I haven't read the rest yet.

Probably five stars for enjoyment and four for overall execution.

Owly is such a cute and sweet little owl! Owly makes friends with everyone, and has a huge, warm heart.
"Just a Little Blue" is filled with warmth and action, as Owly tries to make a birdhouse for the bluebird family that lives near by. Characters must overcome preconceived notions about each other, and not only learn how to offer help, but how to accept it as well.

While there were a few times the drawings were a little vague (mostly just on a few expressions though) it was a highly entertaining book and very sweet!

Andy Runton, Owly: Just a Little Blue (Top Shelf, 2005)

Owly and Wormy find themselves besieged by a pair of blue jays. In order to mollify them, Owly builds a nesting box, but they reject it in favor of the dead hollow tree they've been nesting in. All is well, if uneasy, until a big storm hits the valley, destroying the tree and causing one of the jays' babies to go missing. Once again, Andy Runton has done a fantastic job of conveying a world of feeling in very simple drawings; Owly is a great series for all ages and, as Runton says on his website, for people who think they don't like comics. If you haven't discovered Owly yet, it's definitely worth searching out. ****