The Urban Owls: How Flaco and Friends Made the City Their Home

Making his picture book debut, Cooper (Better Living Through Birding, for adults) catalogs a handful of wild owls who have taken up residence in New York City, starting with Flaco, the famous Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo: “He flew and flew and flew! If you’d been stuck in a cage your whole life, wouldn’t you?” Barry the barred owl, a keen hunter, attracts devoted sightseers because of her dependable appearance on a favorite roost. Great horned owl Geraldine “still catches all the food she needs” following an injury (“A body that’s different doesn’t mean you’re not able to do great things. Just ask Geraldine!”). The survey concludes with the appearance of Rocky, a saw-whet owl that arrived one year via the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. In light-filled digital spreads, Adam (The Secret of Fall) shows the owls in flight and at rest, emphasizing their city-bird status by picturing them near fire escapes and neon signs. Drawing frequent parallels between owls and humans (“Flaco worked the night shift”), cadenced text assures readers that owls might be more proximate than they think. Owl facts conclude. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Gail Ross, WME. Illustrator’s agent: Alice Jin Zhang, Astound US. (Feb.)