Owly & Wormy:  Bright Lights and Starry Nights!   by Andy Runton. Ages 2+.  Atheneum Books for Young Readers.  November 2012.  40 pages.  ISBN:  978-1416957751.  $15.99  Fiction.

Quick Summary:  Owly and Wormy are back in picture book format!  This time they have a new telescope and going to do some stargazing.  The only problem?  The leaves from the trees are in the way.  They decide to pack up and go out into the field so they can get a better view of the sky.  Unfortunately, the next day when they head out it is daytime and they can’t see the stars.  Then it gets cloudy and it begins to rain.  Owly and Wormy take cover in a nearby cave but quickly decide to leave because they hear some spooky sounds.  After it rains, they pitch a tent and are ready to view some stars only to find… Owly has dropped the telescope somewhere!  Wormy is brave and guards the campsite while Owly heads back to find his telescope.  He gets lost but finds a new friend who is a bat!  The bat, along with some of his bat friends, helps Owly find his telescope and his way back to the campsite.  When they return to the campsite Owly, Wormy, and his new bat friends all get to enjoy the beautiful night sky.

Our Experience Reading this Book:  We highly, highly recommend it.  I first found the Owly series in the library in the comic book section.  These wordless comic books are sweet and a joy to read with my two-year-old son.  We’re going to end up buying them all because they’re always interesting and fun.  He enjoys them now and I can guarantee you that he’ll enjoy them for years to come.

These books are really wonderful!  I can sit down with my son and make up a complex story with a lot of details or I can give the basic story line and let him fill in his own.  On occasion, I’ve also just handed an Owly book to him and told him to read it to himself while I get something done quickly.

I am so happy to see Owly & Wormy Bright Lights and Starry Nights!  in picture book format.  While I love the original format of the Owly books, I’m just as smitten with them in full color, glossy, picture book format.  I especially enjoy how large the images are and how encompassed my son and I feel when we read through it together.  It’s a lot easier for two people to sit down and read through Owly & Wormy Bright Lights and Starry Nights! than it is for the smaller, black and white comic books.

I have found that the Owly books are a fantastic way to empower my son to take charge of the story.  We will sit down and have an interactive experience where he creates and adds to the story.  I also enjoy it because it forces me to look at the images to tell the story.  Often times it is so easy, especially when I am tired, to overlook the beautiful illustrations of a picture book.  With this book, I got to treat myself to beautiful and fun illustrations.

The text is minimal and limited to sound effects.  There are exclamation points and question marks and equal signs throughout the book.  This has been a great introduction to punctuation for my son.  My son can now easily identify various punctuation marks and their meanings — all thanks to Owly and Wormy.

The Owly books are for people of all ages.  I’m just as comfortable giving this book to my son as I would to a teenager.  Everyone will enjoy these books.  I predict that these will be classics.  These books are so good and sweet without being sappy or overly sentimental.  Andy Runton has really created an amazing series and I’m so happy to see his second picture book featuring our heroes.  I can’t wait for more.

Where Obtained:  Library.

FTC Disclosures: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” If you click on the link and purchase the book, I will receive an affiliate commission.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Author/Illustrator Website:

• Andy Runton:  http://www.andyrunton.com/

Some of My Favorite Reviews of This Book:

• http://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkids/2013/01/21/review-owly-wormy-bright-lights-and-starry-nights/
• http://comicsworthreading.com/2012/11/25/owly-wormy-bright-lights-and-starry-nights-recommended/
• http://www.cinjoella.com/2013/02/27/owly-wormy-bright-lights-and-starry-nights-by-andy-runton/
• http://booksbypamelathompson.blogspot.com/2012/11/picture-book-pick-owly-and-wormy-bright.html
• http://librariansquest.blogspot.com/2013/01/gazing-goodness.html

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