I Know How to Draw an Owl

One day, Ms. Rio offers a method for drawing an owl, and one student’s rendering looks real. “How did Belle make his eyes so wise?” Ms. Rio asks. “Belle’s owl looks almost alive!” Protagonist Belle says nothing, while first-person narration indicates, “I know,/ but I don’t want to tell.” Slowly, Horder Hippely (A Stormy Night on Tangleweed Island) offers context behind the drawing’s creation. Though Belle and their mother once lived in a house like Leo’s (“tall and white”) and Annika’s (“green”), they now inhabit their car. Belle’s mother says the cry the two hear at night is a hoot owl, “keeping an eye/ on you and me.” One night, at long last, the owl lets itself be seen, and lingers. “I like sharing my home with you,” Belle feels the owl might be saying. This startling moment draws the child into intimacy with the wild creature, equipping the youth to welcome a new student at school whose circumstances seem similar to Belle’s own: “I understand./ I’ll keep my eye on you.” Acrylic paintings by James (Tadpoles) convey measured calm throughout this nuanced work whose energy radiates from a transformative encounter. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Karen Grencik, Red Fox Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists. (Nov.)