Oliver's Wood

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

After staying up late and seeing the big orange sun, Oliver rushes off to tell his friends what it was like. But because it is daylight, they are all fast asleep. This enchanting picture book describes a young owl's first encounter with the sun.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

When Oliver the owl stays up past dawn, he learns that the moonlit and sunlit worlds are as different as, well, night and day. Oliver marvels at "the big, round, warm, orange sun," but his nocturnal friends the hedgehogs, badgers and bats sleep through everything. His only potential playmates are squirrels, rabbits and butterflies‘and they are not at all talkative. Oliver feels lonely, so he takes a nap and soon resumes the late shift. Hendra turns the tables on diurnal creatures‘such as humans‘by presenting darkness and light as basic matters of perspective. Her curvy forest animals, painted in warm rust, gray and brown gouache against a uniform midnight- or baby-blue sky, are quiet and cuddly; the "snuffle, snuffle" of the badgers and "whizz, whizz" of the bats imply no threat whatsoever. The oversize type, simple shapes and minimal plot best serve beginning readers, and Hendra's gentle animals demystify nightfall even as she puts a sweet spin on the concept of bedtime. Ages 2-4. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2‘Oliver, an owl, is at home in the world of "the moon and the twinkly stars," "spiky hedgehogs," "stripy badgers," and "batty bats." One eventful night, he stays up late. He sees "The big, round, warm, orange sun!" and rushes off to tell his pals, but instead of hedgehogs and badgers, he finds rabbits and squirrels; instead of bats, butterflies; and instead of friends, strangers. Oliver's plight and its happy resolution will resonate with young readers, despite the fact that Hendra's minimal text has little resonance of its own. In the end, it's Hendra's gouache cartoons‘boldly colored, artfully composed, expressive, and engaging‘that make Oliver an owl to remember.‘Marcia Hupp, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Ages 3^-6. Oliver the owl is used to hanging out with nocturnal pals such as badgers and bats. But one day, when he wakes up while the sun is shining, Oliver finds butterflies instead of bats and rabbits instead of badgers. However, none of these daytime animals will talk to him, and it is only later that night that he can tell his nighttime friends about the wonder of seeing the sun. The story at times seems truncated, especially the ending. Better is the bold artwork, with its sturdy figures outlined in black against a background of pure blue. This can be a jumping-off point for a discussion of how the same piece of land is occupied by nocturnal and daytime creatures. For larger collections. --Ilene Cooper

Horn Book Review

When Oliver the owl decides to stay up and greet a new day, he is met with the surprise of the sun, instead of the moon and stars, and an array of daylight animals. Although Oliver is intrigued by all that is new around him, he misses his regular routine and nocturnal playmates. Bright illustrations with bold black outlines help create a cozy story. From HORN BOOK 1996, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Oliver, an owl, stays up past his bedtime at the end of one night and sees something he has never seen before--the sun. Oliver wants to tell someone about it, but all his friends--the ``spiky hedgehogs'' and the ``stripy badgers''--are asleep. None of the animals who are awake--awake as usual--are the least bit interested. Feeling ever-so-lonely, Oliver finally falls asleep. When his friends wake him up in the middle of the night, he is compensated for all his earlier disappointments, for they are duly impressed when they hear about the sun. Hendra's simple text has flair: The adjectives conjure up funny images, while the story gives readers plenty to think about, without ever using the words nocturnal and diurnal. Gouache illustrations look much like linoleum prints--blocks of bright colors, mainly blue and ocher-- and the chubby animals, with their bulging white eyes, are undeniably friendly territory. (Picture book. 2-4)