Who's Hoo? Owls!

From eight inches tall to two feet in height, the owls introduced in the Who’s Hoo? Owls! series come in many shapes and sizes. These level 2 readers introduce new feathery friends to youngsters ready to tackle longer text featuring less repetition and more challenging vocabulary. Excellent photos allow readers to see dose-ups of each owl’s physical features (labeled) and examples of these birds hunting, flying, nesting, and blending into their surroundings with their excellent camouflage. The main text is divided into three chapters and integrates four info­graphics depicting the featured owl’s anatomy, preferred prey, early life stages, and a range map. In Barred Owls, readers learn that these large owls are excellent hunters and have a wingspan that can reach four feet. The pint-sized star of Saw-whet Owls will steal hearts as it roosts in pine trees and sings its signature too-too-too call. Another small owl resides in Screech Owls, which shows off this bird’s incredible camouflage, thanks to its bark-like feather pattern. Snowy Owls heads to the Arctic for a look at this large, majestic raptor, whose hunting prowess is guided by its exceptional hearing. Informative and supportive of readers transi­tioning to more challenging texts, these new series installments are solid additions to the animal-science shelves.
— Julia Smith

This reviewer evaluated Burrowing Owls. These books introduce early readers to different owl species. The text begins with where the owls live, their size and physical features, behavior, what they eat, and their life cycles. Text features include maps, charts, and colorful photographs that will keep even the earliest of readers engaged. The book ends with a glossary, a list of books to learn more about the subject, directions to find more information on the internet, and an index.

THOUGHTS: My younger students love all of the Blastoff! Readers animal books, and this series is no different. With the colorful photographs and easy to read text, this series is a must-have for school libraries that want to update animal books, specifically owls, collections.

In this series, the reader learns about specific owls around the world. The books tell about the special characteristics of each owl that help it to survive (talons, sharp beaks, etc.). The books discuss the features of the owls and the size of the owls, including a diagram of each owl’s wingspan and a diagram of each owl’s body. The books tell where each owl lives and includes a map of where the owls can be found. The numerous photographs of the owls in their natural habitats engage readers young and old! These non-fiction books include numerous non-fiction text features to support the reader in understanding the important facts in the book. Some non-fiction text features included in each book are engaging photographs, a table of contents, labels, headings, bold-faced words, a map, diagrams, a glossary, and an index. Check out these books to learn all about owls!