Whoo-Oo is It? (Orchard Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Megan McDonald (Author), S. D. Schindler (Illustrator), Steven D. Schindler (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997 | Age Level: 2 and up | Series: Orchard Paperbacks

Both a bedtime story and an accurate presentation of a barn owl's extraordinary hearing capacity, which she puts to use on the moonlit night the first of her nestlings hatches. This magnificent hymn to night, night sound, and birth, is by the award-winning creators of Is This a House for Hermit Crab?. Full-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-- McDonald once again combines story and nature lesson in this sophisticated piece of prose that incorporates some nighttime sounds. Mother barn owl, sitting on her eggs in the eaves of the barn at sundown, hears some familiar noises and flies off to investigate. Observant children will quickly connect the odd noises to the eggs shown in an early illustration, yet the first glimpse of an owl hatchling holds an element of surprise. Schindler illustrates this soft, sometimes poetic piece in a style similar to that in his earlier collaboration with McDonald, Is This a House for Hermit Crab? (Orchard, 1990). Most of the realistic pastel drawings rendered on earth-toned papers are dark scenes of barn interior and woods, with an occasional sand or gray-bordered scene for contrast. The format is quite attractive. Although this quiet story with its unfamiliar sounds is not exactly exciting fare, it will make a satisfying read-aloud selection for classrooms and story hours. --Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Just before dark, a nesting barn owl hears a faint sound, familiar yet mysterious. As night closes in, sources are suggested in a series of questions: Was it ``a mouse, scurrying...? Tch, tch, tch, tch...'' or, as the owl goes out to explore beneath a full moon, ``the whhoosh of a dragonfly's wings...?'' At daybreak, she discovers the true cause--her owlets are hatching. The mystery may be a contrivance, but it works well as a narrative device to link nighttime experiences. McDonald's poetic text is wonderfully full of words that evoke the senses- -especially sounds: deftly mimicked voices (``Churrr, churrr,'' says the raccoon, while Father Owl cries, ``Kwa-kwa-hoooo. Hu, Hu, Hu'') and a wealth of other onomatopoeic words. Children will delight in chiming in, especially at the end when the sounds are reiterated, summarizing the owl's search but now understood as noises made by the hatching babies. Schindler's dark illustrations are outstanding. Almost drained of color, many of the double spreads are almost entirely black, with shapes barely suggested by delicate highlights, a starry purple sky showing through a crack in the barn roof, or the outline of a raccoon's mask. The effect is daringly dramatic and surprisingly legible from at least a short distance--which is fortunate, since the text lends itself so well to group interaction. An unusual, splendidly handsome book. For primary grades, try pairing it with Walter de la Mare's haunting poem, ``Some One.'' (Picture book. 2-8) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books (NY) (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531070948
• ISBN-13: 978-0531070949
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,070,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

10 THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME

10. The first book I ever wrote was about a hermit crab, inspired by a pet I once owned.

9. My favorite color is purple.

8. I love to read mysteries. When I was Judy's age, I read all 56 classic Nancy Drew books . . . in order! Jeepers!

7. I used to collect scabs so I could examine them under the microscope that I got for my 8th birthday.

6. My four sisters and I often made up our own language, which included the words "Hoidi Boidi", "oogey", "retzel crummypuss" and "poony-poony".

5. My favorite TV show is JEOPARDY!

4. To research my Sisters Club book, THE RULE OF THREE, I toured San Francisco in search of the ultimate cupcake. The winner: Sleepless in San Francisco. Think chocolate + coffee.

3. When I was a kid, I fell down a hill from chasing the ice-cream truck and had to get stitches.

2. When I was a librarian, I used to tell stories in sign language. That's how I got the expression "same-same" for Judy.

1. I share a birthday (February 28) with a famous princess, race car driver and gangster, a Rolling Stone, a French tightrope walker, and a winning racehorse named Smarty Jones.