Owly Volume 1: The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer

Being a bird of prey is difficult when you just want to be friends with smaller birds and insects who view you as a scary predator. But things start looking up for Owly when a friendship is formed with Wormy and then their friend group is extended to two hummingbirds named Tiny and Angel. But can friendship weather all the ups and downs of the seasons? Read this book to find out!

This is an adorably sweet book that I'm sorry I slept on for so long. I saw it circulating among young readers in my library but had no particular strong feeling about reading it myself until I heard the author speaking on a library podcast. It became obvious that the author is a person with great empathy skills and sought to imbue the book series with those. I show more particularly loved that he explained how he decided to make Owly a character who uses only pictures to communicate and not words so that Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and other nonverbal children could see themselves represented in books.

The story of friendship is evergreen and there are actual facts about hummingbirds interspersed in the text, which I appreciated. The adventures of the friends are compelling, keeping the reader wanting to turn the pages to see what happens next. The book is broken up into two stories so there is a nice logical place to pause mid-way through, but it is short and sweet enough to be pretty much read in one sitting if you have a little bit of free time to do so.

The illustrations are quite charming, especially with Owly's wide eyes inviting the reader in. show less

Despite its simplicity, this graphic novel is not aimed at the younger set, but is a book for all age groups. Almost entirely devoid of words, the charm of this series rests in the simple illustrations. Do not rush through the novel – take time to savor the drawings. The deep friendship between Owly and Wormy develops gradually but firmly. In the second story, the duo befriends a couple of humming birds. Through these woodland creatures, Andy Runton has shown what it takes to be a friend and keep a friend, and that friendship continues even when friends are separated.

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 show more simple books that has something for everyone. It's a complete 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 illustration 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. show less

OK, this was just a really quick read, but it was absolutely adorable! Owly lives in the forest where he tries to make friends, but most of the forest animals are scared of him because he is an owl. The first story in this collection, "The Way Home," Owly helps a small worm find his way home after he was separated from his parents and in the second story, "The Bittersweet Summer," Owly befriends 2 hummingbirds.

There is almost no text whatsoever in the story, but Runton does an amazing job conveying the emotions of his characters through their expressions and simple illustrated idea thought bubbles. The artwork is simply black and white line drawings, and the sequential art is easy to follow and understand. This would be an excellent show more book for younger kids who are interested in the graphic novel form.

This was a pleasant surprise of a book and I think I'm going to have to check out the other editions from my library! show less

This is one of the most adorable graphic novels I have ever read. There is very little text here and the story telling relies almost entirely on illustration. The illustration style fits the light hearted tone of the stories.
Owly is a little owl who wants to make friends. In the first story, many creatures are frightened off by Owly's appearance, eventually he meets Wormy and finally makes a friend. In the second story Owly and Wormy make two more frinds, Tiny and Angel, two hummingbirds. The stories both revolve around the lesson of loving someone enough to let them go.

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!

I chose to read this book because of it’s description as an “all ages comic book,” in order to help complete this year’s Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. I was surprised when it arrived to see exactly how few words this book contained. The animals make noises and occasionally there are words shown from a book one of the animals is reading, but that’s about it. Conversations are conveyed through bubbles containing pictures. Emotions are expressed by way of pictures. I found it pretty incredible that so much could be conveyed without words and with some fairly simplistic depictions.

This book is composed of two novellas, each in comic book style. In the first, Owly, the charming main character, is out to help others and make show more friends. He puts birdseed out for the birds. He frees captured fireflies. He rescues Wormy from nearly drowning in a puddle during a rainstorm and stays up all night making sure he is ok. The next day he helps Wormy find his parents. In the second novella, Owly and Wormy go out of their way to research and find the right food for two hungry hummingbirds. Owly also must learn to let go in this story, as the hummingbirds must migrate south for the summer. Owly’s good deeds do not go unnoticed and those he has helped become his loyal friends, destined to return even if flying far away.

These are truly heartwarming, enchanting tales of friendship and kindness. I read this with my 4 year old daughter who summed the book up in one word, “awesome.” I look forward to reading more of Owly in the future. show less