Author: Andy Runton
Illustrator: Andy Runton
© Date: 2005, 2020
Publisher: Graphix
Pages: 118
Chapters: No
Illustrations: Yes, graphic novel
Publisher Recommended Age: 7-10 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: No
Summary from Book: Owly and Wormy want to help…
Best friends Owly and Wormy have days filled with adventure and hearts filled with kindness. And when they discover a bluebird family living in a damaged tree, they want to help out the best way they can: by building the birds a new home! But when they share their girt, the birds don’t welcome the new birdhouse quite as Owly and Wormy had hoped. With a big storm moving in, can Owly and Wormy help get the birds (and their chicks!) to safety before it’s too late?
Note: This review is done from memory. I originally read this awhile ago.
Page Pig Thoughts: This one was sweet, but a little suspenseful since the bluebird home was destroyed and Little Blue was stuck in the thorn bush. Owly and Wormy are just trying to do kind things, but Daddy Blue the bluebird just wasn’t ready to realize that kindness was the only intention. In the end, Owly and Wormy are able to save the day. Owly and Wormy are able to persevere through tough times on their quest for kindness, and I suppose that is a tricky part to kindness, someone else may not be ready to accept it. The pictures are super sweet and capture the mood of all the dramatic moments. We enjoyed this one enough to read another, but it didn’t knock our socks off.
Use caution with younger or sensitive readers, the drama of the story may be a little much.
Family Unit: Owly and Wormy live together
Conflict/Social Issues:
- Owly and Wormy build a birdhouse to help bluebirds, but the bluebirds think that the house is a trap.
- Owly and Wormy used their beloved wheelbarrow to make a birdhouse. For a bit, they were without a wheelbarrow and the house was unused/rejected.
Positive Items:
- The bluebirds realize that Owly and Wormy are just trying to be kind and helpful.
- Owly and Wormy have a balance of when to be kind and when to take a step back when their kindness doesn’t feel welcomed.
- Owly and Wormy still do the right thing and go to help the bluebirds after the storm, even when the bluebirds had not been the nicest before.
Items of Interest:
- Owly and Wormy have a beloved wheelbarrow that they use often.
- Daddy Blue the bluebird is afraid of Owly because Owly is an owl. Daddy Blue swoops at Owly.
- Owly and Wormy reluctantly and tearfully tear apart their wheelbarrow because they want to build a birdhouse to help out bluebirds (they saw a sign).
- They put up the house and Daddy Blue has no interest in having his wife hatch eggs in it.
- Flutter the butterfly helps Owly and Wormy get a welcome sign for the birdhouse so the bluebirds will know that the house is for them.
- Daddy Blue swoops at Wormy who is trying to hang the sign. Wormy is in tears because he doesn’t understand why Daddy Blue would do that.
- Daddy Blue thinks the house is a trap.
- Owly and Wormy are sad about the house.
- A big storm comes through. Owly and Wormy are trying to clean up the forest. Wormy is excited that they can use the wheelbarrow to help hold the branches, but then they are sad because the wheelbarrow was used for the empty house.
- Flutter tells Owly and Wormy that the bluebirds need help. Owly thinks that the bluebirds will attack him again, but goes to the bluebird tree stump home anyway.
- Owly winds up saving the baby birds that are too young to fly out of the falling tree.
- Little Blue falls into a thorny bush. Wormy helps Little Blue escape the bush.
- The bluebirds then happily live in the birdhouse and hang out with Owly and Wormy.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- Book 1 – The Way Home
- Book 2 – Just a Little Blue
- Book 3 – Flying Lessons
- Book 4 – A Time to Be Brave
- Book 5 – Tiny Tales
- Book 6 – A Fishy Situation
- Two Owly picture books are also available (Friends All Aflutter and Bright Lights and Starry Nights)