What I liked: No words. This is a great graphic novel, especially for the young ones (boys especially) who don't like to actually read words. This book tells the story of the unlikely friendship between an owl and a worm. The illustrations are wonderful. I think Owly is cute.
What I did not like: For me, it was easy to skim over so fast, sometimes missing important parts of the story presented in the pictures. This might not be the case for younger readers who study the pictures a little more.
Recommendation: I would buy this book for my library (medium public library). ( )

Recommended reading level: K - 12.

Other titles in this series are:
Owly vol. 2: Just a little blue (2005);
Owly vol. 3: Flying lessons (2005).

Two sweet stories of friendship and belonging suitable for beginner and ESL readers. An excellent fusion of text and image make this book interesting to a large age range.

Reading Owly is like getting a lovely, warm, soft hug. The kind your Mom or grandmother gives. Or it's like sitting down with a mug o' steaming tea (or hot, comforting beverage of choice). They're touching without being cheesy, sweet without being saccharine, and cute without being corny. Ahhh . . . now I need to reread them! ( )

Owly is a cute puffball of a bird and is almost all eyes. The other creatures that populate the stories, including a worm, smaller birds and lightning bugs, are also cute and expressive. There is nothing to actually read in these books other than a few sentences from the books Owly reads. Dialogue takes place through pictographs symbolizing concepts like home and ideas. It is great to take my geeklet through the process of understanding the images as we turn the pages.

I received a copy of the the first book in the series, The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer from the publisher.

My five year old has quickly become a big fan of these graphic novels. I like them just as much as he does. The stories tell the power of friendship, trying your hardest and caring for others. All great traits that I try to teach my kids.

The first book, The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer, contains two stories. The first story tells how Owly rescues a worm from drowning during a rainstorm. After recovery the two set out to reunite Wormy with his parents. All of this includes overcoming Wormy’s natural apprehension of birds. In the second story Owly and Wormy plant a garden to attract hummingbirds. Eventually, they are confronted with the changing seasons and the need to let the hummingbirds leave.

For being wordless, the pages are full of expression. Reading them demands attention, first to figure out what’s being shown and then to enjoy all the details.

If you are looking for something new to read to your geeklets, pick up one of the Owly books.

Read more on GeekDad: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/07/... ( )