Little Hoot (original 2008; edition 2008)

Cute illustrations throughout this little story about a young owl who just wants to go to bed at night. His parents insist he must stay up and be a proper owl. This would be fun to read with a kid who didn't want to go to bed. I enjoyed it, perhaps more than otherwise since I read it at work (it was a baby gift that a co-worker got). ( )

An owl named Little Hoot wants to go to bed early but his parents say he has to stay up late and play so he may be a wise old when he is older.

Very cute story. Although I worry reading it to a child before bed because Little Hoot can stay up late what’s to say that the child will want to stay up because of the little owl. The artwork fits the cuteness of Little Hoot temper tantrum not wanting to stay up and be a night owl. He looks bored as he has “fun”. ( )

Little Hoot has the opposite problem from most kids: he has to stay up LATE and really doesn't want to. So dang cute.

this is one of my favorite books. i read it to one of the children i babysit everytime i put her to bed. little hoot is a good little owl who wants to go to bed early like all his other friends. but to become a wise owl, he must stay up late. he listens to his parents and plays until he can finally sleep. this would be a great book to teach kids about the sleeping patterns of owls or about following directions.

In an ironic twist on the classic bedtime procrastination story, Little Hoot is forced to stay up and play by his night owl parents. This tongue-in-cheek picture book combines darling illustrations with the humor of an unexpected point of view. Word play and puns also feature in this story, some more subtle than others for different reading and listening audiences. The illustrations are done in ink and watercolor with a predominance of curved lines and shapes. Characters and props are depicted, but everything else is left as white space, giving this book an un-busy appearance. The only illustration with text builds on the story’s use of word play, and another illustration is subtitled “FIG.1,” “FIG. 2,” and “FIG. 3” which are charming as well as funny, but probably appeal more to the adult reading than the very young child listening. The smaller size of this book as well as its content lends itself well to a nighttime read rather than a group story time environment. This book is recommended for children ages three to six. ( )