Genre: Picture Book
Age Level: 5-7
Summary: Owl Moon is a Caldecott Medal book. This book is a sweet story of a young girl and her father who set out on an adventure. This "owling" adventure will lead them through snow-covered hills and valleys in search of the great owl. The young girl knows that this is an experience to treasure because not all who decide to go on this adventure get the privilege of seeing the majesty of the great owl. Throughout the story, Jane Yolen uses many literary devices to add to the story. For example, she uses metaphor when she wrote, "the trees stood still as giant statues." She also used simile when she wrote, "...a train whistle blew, long and low, like a sad, sad song." Her use of these devices adds to the text of the story and helps to relay the feeling of a calm, cold winter night.
The illustrator, John Schoenherr, used diagonal lines to depict motion all throughout the story. These lines appear in the form of footsteps as the young girl and her father are walking. This gives the appearance that they are walking uphill. The shadows of the trees are also in the form of diagonals, which gives the sense that the two of them are either walking uphill, or downhill as they head home from their adventure. The illustrations are a beautiful depiction of the calm of a winter wonderland during an "owling" adventure.
Reflection: This book was so precious to me. I know how special a bond is between a young girl and her father. I couldn't believe I had never read this book before now. Owl Moon would be a great resource to use when teaching literary devices, especially simile, metaphor, personification, and onomatopoeia. Students would be able to discuss these devices based on the words chosen by the author. They would also be able to explain with detail if given an open response type question asking them to describe one of these devices. I think that I would also like to use this book as a read-aloud before actually beginning classwork on literary devices. It would be a good introductory lesson.
Big Questions: Why do you think the author calls this adventure "owling"? What is the illustrator's purpose in using diagonal lines throughout this story? Where in this story can you find a simile or metaphor? What is the difference between these two devices?
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