When Little Owl Met Little Rabbit

In a magnificent wood, an owl family lives amid the branches of an old oak, while a rabbit family resides among its roots; each has “a small, sleepy baby.” The two young creatures know about each other (“You remind me of our neighbor Little Owl when you tilt your head like that,” Mother Rabbit says), but due to the animals’ opposing waking periods, they’ve never met. When at last, a full moon rises, they find themselves face-to-face. “Can you teach me to hunt in the dark?” Little Rabbit inquires; “Can you teach me to hop through grass?” Little Owl asks. To keep in touch, they leave daily gifts for each other (a feather, a dirt clod), and make a wish that engenders a mystical connection between them until full-moon nights offer precious playtime. Wechterowicz thoughtfully explores a growing attachment in this quiet logistical fable, while Dziubak creates a lush, intricately developed forest world that plays the sunlight of Little Rabbit’s daytime world off the moonlight and warm interior glow of Little Owl’s nocturnal life. Ages 3–6. (Apr.)