Little owl's night book

Srinivasan, D. (2011). Little owl’s night. New York, NY: Viking Press.
ISBN 978-0-670-01295-4

This book is about a little owl’s curiosity and adventures throughout one beautiful night. It explores, through little owl’s eyes, all the other animals that come out at night like hedgehog, skunk, turtle, beaver, raccoon, and more of our west coast animals; it also describes what they eat. It describes the sounds little owl hears throughout the night forest like the crickets who chirp and the frogs that croak. Toward the end of the book; little owl’s bedtime, little owl asks his mum how night ends; she describes how the colors of the sky change, how some flowers open and tells little owl about some of the animals who are awake during the day.
4)
I would use this book for three to five year olds because it has beautiful illustrations that small children could relate to, the story line is simple, there is not too much writing and they would not lose interest. The words as well as the images are very descriptive and it teaches children of which animals are nocturnal and diurnal; giving me the opportunity to teach children of these meanings. I find the storyline to be gender neutral; I think both boys and girls would like this book. Young children can make connections to their experiences with these animals as they are animals we are familiar with in our environment. Some descriptive words I may have to explain to children are grumbly, gnawed, rustling, hovered and gazing.
5)
The illustrations in this book are created by the author; they are very bold and descriptive. Some of the flowers show transparencies through drawing or shading. The book contains uses of different line art (trees) and shading. It looks like she may have used graphite, chalk pastels or digital blending for some of the shaded images however; she most likely used a combination of mediums for her art work; sketching the images by hand then coloring them digitally using a computer graphics program. Her illustrations are very friendly, calm and provoke wonder while perhaps attracting the child to the details; her use of drawing the animals, with their big, bright eyes makes me smile; I love their cute but somewhat realistic features; thought still fiction. I think some of her images would make children laugh and I think they would enjoy searching for the details in the background; once the book is read over and over, the smaller details can be noticed and appreciated. I also think children can relate to the images in this book as they mirror real life. I was immediately drawn to the little owl with the big, bright eyes on the cover; as I further explored the book I was very drawn to the details and how the author ‘drew sound and movement’; bringing the images to life. I find the images to be unique and creative.
6) I would build background knowledge and provoke interest for children by asking children about their walk or drive to school; what trees, animals or bugs they saw. I would ask them if they noticed what the moon looked like the night before or if they had ever seen a full moon; I could start a discussion on bats; do we ever see bats in the day? Where might they live? It could turn into a discussion of what animals we see in the daytime. I could also develop the conversation further by wondering what differences we see in the color of the sky and forest during the day and night; notice what connections are made. Provocations: I would start by taping laminated pictures of the real-life versions of the animals the author used in her story as well as hanging laminated pictures of the big, bright owl eyes around the classroom but I wouldn’t tell the children why they were there, I would just let them wonder. I would also ask children about animal sounds; if they can act out the sound an owl makes, squirrels, crickets, frogs, crows, bears, etc. I could also ask children if they knew what these animals liked to eat. I would take the children on a nature walk where we would look into the trees to see if we could see any animals or bird’s nests; while teaching the children why it is important not to disturb any nests or animals we may find. I would have the children collect a pinecone each and any materials from the walk like moss, sticks or dried leaves; (with supervision to not disturb any important habitats), to bring into the classroom; while on our walk I would play recorded animal sounds to help the children make a connection between animals and nature. (I haven’t decided whether I will tell them I am playing these noises; I may have to let them discover that).
7) Ways to present the book:
1) Audience Participation: I would gather all the children in a big circle (outside; weather permitting), after we have read the book. I would ask who would want to play each character and colors related to the story; taking turns so every child has a chance to participate if they chose to. I would have a conversation with the children about the different sounds and movements the animals made to help them feel comfortable with their role; some children may not know how to make a cricket sound in which we could discuss as a class what we want the cricket to sound like. I would narrate the story line; putting it into my own words but stating the main things little owl saw and a description of his’ and the other animal’s movements or characteristics. I would have a child pretend he or she was a tree (little owl’s tree); with one arm straight out for a branch and another child pretend they are the moon with both arms over their head like a circle. I would have the children wave colored scarves (from music prop box), around to describe the river, sky and fog. Props: Finger puppets- bear, owl, hedgehog, skunk, possum, rooster, fox, crow. Turtle (beanie baby). Rubber bats, cricket and frogs. Scarves- dark blue, red, orange and light blue for sky (and river) and a lavender/grey piece of a sheer curtain for the fog.
2) Story Basket: I would have the children sit in a ‘U’ shape facing the stage as I set up. I would place my basket in front of the children with a sheet covering the top the entire time; to provoke wonder. Inside the basket I would prepare my story with the beginning characters and objects at the top and the end ones at the bottom so the story can flow. I wouldn’t use every character from the story but definitely the ones I found were most important. At the top of my basket I would have a small tin of sparkles that I would place openly behind the basket for later use; I would have a black sheet to lay down as the stage but also for the children to imagine is the dark forest and sky. I would use the same finger puppets as I used for the ‘audience participation’ story (a way to save money). When I first read this story, I felt very calm; this is the atmosphere I would try to create using a very calm tone of voice. I would put emphasis on the descriptive words the author chose as I believe this can teach children of connections between these words and the characters movements. I would have the characters move off and around the stage to give the story some life. I would use a sheer curtain for the fog and I would act out how ‘the fog hovered just over head’. Toward the end, I would sprinkle a tiny bit of the previously hidden glitter over the stage when mama is describing the dewdrops falling like stars. I would use my colored scarves (from prop box) to dance in front of the scene, describing how the sky changes color from dusk to dawn, then I would place a cardboard or wooden stand; covered in a light blue sheet, behind the scene to represent the day sky when little owl falls asleep. (When cleaning up the story pieces, I would do it neatly as to teach the children a lesson that all pieces are to be taken care of and placed back into their basket when finished playing). Props: Deep, square, wicker basket with handles; for story basket, a sheet to cover the basket throughout the story, finger puppets: snail, owl, hedgehog, skunk, turtle (beanie baby), beaver, bear, raccoon, fox, rooster, rubber cricket, frog, a fake small tree, fake mushrooms and purple and white flowers. Piece of wood that looks like a sawed off tree trunk, acorns, stick of wood with chunk missing. Scarves blue, red, orange. Wooden or cardboard stand; covered in light blue sheet, and small tin of glitter.
3) Felt Board: I would first read the book with the children then have the children sit in front of me so everyone can see, I would place my black felt board in front of my body and have all my characters lain out behind the board so the children cannot see. I would start placing little felt stars on the top of the felt board to stay there throughout most of the story then I would start telling the story. I would place little owl in the sky and describe his wonderful night; all the animals he saw and had a visit with; as he flies on and above the felt board. I would then place a piece of green felt on the bottom of the board and a few berries above, I would have the skunk waddle in and eat the berries; I would make munching noises with the skunk and have the berries disappear into my hand. As raccoon and little owl would sit together; I would have a grey strip of felt (fog) wave in and stick just above them. I would then place a tree with a branch on the board and a moon behind it; owl would fly in and perch on his branch, I would describe the colors of the sky changing; placing a piece of dark blue felt on the board then red bellow then orange. I would take a large piece of light blue felt to cover all the colors and switch an ‘awaken owl’ for a fast asleep one. (Once again telling the story in my own words and giving the characters ‘life’). Props: Black felt board (ordered through Barb), Little owl felt characters (one fast asleep, one awake and perched), two possums (one mama, one baby), skunk, berries (hole punched red felt), raccoon, fox, grey moon, brown tree with green leaves, green felt piece for grass, grey strip of felt for fog, 3 grey stars, sand paper for backs of all pieces, dark blue, red and orange strips of felt and one large light blue one for the day sky. I had a look on the ‘3H Craftworks’ webpage but they don’t have the ‘little owl’s night’ felt story; I will have to make the pieces; I will either trace the animals and cut them out and assemble details or print the characters onto a t-shirt decal then iron them onto felt.
4) Clothes Line/ ‘story vine’: I would start by tying a piece of rope to two areas of the classroom or I would have two teachers hold either end. I would wear an apron with pockets to hold my pictures and clothes pins and I would tell the story, placing the characters and scenes from the children’s left to right but still trying to ‘bring them to life’. (All of my pictures would be laminated and I would use clothes pins to attach them to the rope as I told the story). I would first pin a picture of the cover of the book to the clothes line (my right, their left). I would then take little owl and have him fly in and around before I pinned him to the rope, then the other animals little owl saw; leaving little owl by the cover as if he was watching all the animals. I would use a piece of sheer, curtain to wave in front of the characters like fog (when finished I would put the curtain back in my apron). I would then narrate that the sky is beginning to lighten and it is almost little owl’s bedtime as little owl flies away, I would take a blue, then red, then orange scarf and wave them in front of the characters (attaching them to my apron when finished). All laminated pictures would have to be organized in my apron and labeled on the back so I could tell what is where. After presenting all the stories I create, I would allow children explore the pieces on their own.
Props: Rope (preferably died dark blue or black to light blue to mark the beginning and end of the story line; night to day). Little owl awake, little owl sleeping, two possums, hedgehog, mushroom, berry tree, skunk, raccoon, sleeping bear, fox, rooster (all laminated images may be scenes rather than only characters), apron, dark blue, red, orange and light blue scarves (sky), grey scarf (fog).
Pages to stop and wonder with children (what to wonder and why)
When owl is watching the possum family, I would stop and wonder with the children of where the possum family might be going (encouraging all their ideas). When skunk is eating berries because he couldn’t find any snails; even though there are snails slithering behind him, I would stop and wonder if the snails are hiding from skunk. On the twelfth page there is a picture of a large wing but no explanation of why it is there, to me it looks like it could be little owl’s mama flying close by but I would stop and wonder with the children of who they think the wing belongs to. When the sky is beginning to lighten and change colors, I may stop and wonder what color the sky will turn into. I would prepare to ‘chunk’ the book on page fourteen where I would wonder who could be sleeping in the grumbly cave. I would chunk the book here because there is a bear’s foot sticking out of the cave as a hint but some children may not see this, striking up a conversation; little owl does say “wake up bear, don’t sleep all night” in which I just wouldn’t say ‘bear’; leaving it open. On page sixteen I have covered the bear with paper, so we can continue to wonder who is sleeping until I reveille it.
8)
1) Extensions: With the items gathered from our nature walk; moss, sticks, pinecones etc. (provocation). I would have the children, as a group, create an owl’s nest; we could bunch all the materials together; using glue where necessary. Using the pinecones each child collected, we could individually create our little owls to place in the nest. The owls could have a triangular, orange, felt nose, big googly eyes and two small feathers to stick to the back for wings.
2) As another extension, I would teach the children an owl song we could sing as a group called; “Be like an owl” (sung to London bridge)
Flap your wings and fly around, fly around, fly around
Flap your wings and fly around, just like an owl.
Open your eyes big and wide, big and wide, big and wide,
Open your eyes big and wide, just like an owl.
Land on the ground and hop along, hop along, hop along,
Land on the ground and hop along, just like an owl.
Turn your head and say “Hoo! Hoo!”
Say “Hoo! Hoo!”
Say “Hoo! Hoo!”
Turn your head and say “Hoo! Hoo!” just like an owl.
I like this song because it is fun and can teach children of an owl’s characteristics; children can act these out.

3) Discussion: the book could lead to a wide discussion of nocturnal vs. diurnal animals (scientific words) and what this means. We could wonder which animals we think, through our experiences are day time or night time animals and why. I could use a book that tells us about these differences and we could compare our thoughts and reasons; children could make connections between their experiences and what they have learnt. I would also take the laminated photos of the real life animals from the story book and compare them with the author/illustrator’s animated versions; children could make more connections.
One more activity I think would be fun would be to bring in non-decorated cupcakes and vanilla icing; we could color the icing with the children (to the colors of little owl) and we could decorate little owl’s face on the cupcakes. This could also be done using fruits; for a healthier choice. An orange could be sliced into an oval for the owl’s head, strawberries sliced thin for the feathers, green apple slices for the outer part of the eyes, kiwi slices for the inner parts of the eyes and a diamond pineapple chunk for the nose. (All items would have to be prepped before-hand for safety purposes; children could then just assemble their fruit owl faces).
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