An Owl at Sea

PreS-Gr 2-Back in October of 2015, a Short-eared Owl landed on an oil rig 100 miles off-shore in the North Sea. Riggers who discovered the exhausted creature cared for the owl until it could be transported back to land and turned over to the Scottish SPCA, where it was rehabilitated and eventually released back into its natural habitat. Vande Griek recounts this lost and found story in straightforward narrative verse, leaving plenty of room for Wallace to add understanding and drama to this unusual tale. Crisp white verso pages feature the minimal verse and are juxtaposed with full-page watercolor paintings that depict each scene with clarifying details and essential perspective. A single end page harmonizes with the elegant simplicity of the text, offering readers background on the news report that inspired the story, information about Short-eared Owls, source notes, and suggestions for further reading.