Owly is a young owl just looking to make a few friends. Unfortunately since he’s an owl most of the other birds and insects are afraid of him! What’s Owly to do? And then…one day he rescues a worm, Wormy, from a rain storm, nurses him back to health, and then offers to help him get back home to his parents. Owly carefully guards the young Wormy on their journey back to his home and his parents. In the second story Owly and Wormy once again team up to rescue and care for two young hummingbirds and the group soon becomes fast friends. But winter is coming and the hummingbirds can’t survive for long in the cold. Owly and Wormy learn that sometimes being good friends, means saying goodbye for a while.
Owly is one of those deceptively simple books that has something for everyone. It’s a completly wordless tale that relies on the reader to look closely at the illustrations to decipher the story being told. And what powerful stories they are. Although Andy is illustrating age old concepts (saying goodbye doesn’t mean forever and don’t judge by appearances) he puts a fresh twist on them that makes them enjoyable for all ages. You can’t help but feel sad for Owly as he tries to make a friend, and rejoice when he’s able to team up with Wormy. The illustrations are extremely important since there are no words and Andy does a masterful job of creating characters that are memorable, easy to identify, and enjoyable. The illustrations are light, simple, and carefree and work well with the story. It’s easy to figure out the characters expressions and know instantly how they’re feeling. My one wish is that there would be more color to the illustrations, like on the front cover, but its a minor wish.
I look forward to future adventures of Owly, Wormy and friends and highly recommend this story to everyone.
