Little Owl’s Bedtime

Debi Gliori

Alison Brown

Bloomsbury, 2021 

28pp., board book., RRP $A14.99

9781526603441

Little Owl is back in another story for littlies but this time instead of waiting anxiously for a new sibling; being concerned about starting preschool  or looking for any reason not to stop his game and have a bath , this time he is trying to avoid going to bed. His pillow is too lumpy, his quilt is too hot, it is too dark and what is that strange snorting noise he can hear?  Perhaps one last bedtime story will help or maybe, just maybe, Mummy Owl has an ingenious way to soothe her restless Little Owl and help him get a good night’s sleep . .

Over the last few years, Little Owl has become a favourite with our youngest readers as his adventures and concerns mirror their own so closely, and now that it is available in board book format, they will be delighted that they will be able to handle the book themselves and tell themselves the story.  Even though the words might be small and a bit tricky, Alison Brown’s delightful illustrations have more than enough detail and familiar activity for them to work out what is happening in this essential pre-reading behaviour.  

It is such a bonus to be able to give our little ones real books with real stories that are sturdy enough for their developing hands so they can understand from the earliest age that stories bring pleasure.