{"product_id":"the-owl-who-was-afraid-of-the-dark","title":"The Owl Who Was Afraid Of The Dark","description":"\u003cp\u003ePlop, the Baby Barn Owl, is like every Barn Owl there ever was, except for one\u003cbr\u003ething-he is afraid of the dark. 'Dark is nasty' he says and so he won't go\u003cbr\u003ehunting with his parents. Mrs. Barn Owl sends him down from his nest-hole to\u003cbr\u003eask about the dark and he meets a little boy waiting for the fireworks to\u003cbr\u003ebegin, an old lady, a scout out camping, a girl who tells him about Father\u003cbr\u003eChristmas, a man with a telescope, and a black cat who takes him exploring. He\u003cbr\u003erealizes that through these encounters that dark is super after all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRead and Respond Teachers guide available\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003eHoward's glorious nocturnal illustrations give new life to the late British\u003cbr\u003eauthor's 1968 tale of an owlet frightened of the night. 'The dark is scary,'\u003cbr\u003ePlop tells Mommy Barn Owl, who wisely instructs him to learn a bit more about\u003cbr\u003eit before passing judgment. Soon, Plop is off seeking new acquaintances, both\u003cbr\u003ehuman and animal, who tell him their favorite things about the evening, from\u003cbr\u003efireworks and campfire singalongs to viewing the constellations ('The dark is\u003cbr\u003ewondrous. Look through the telescope,' says one gentleman he meets).\u003cbr\u003eTomlinson's reassuring tale is aimed squarely at preschoolers, who will thrill\u003cbr\u003eto a familiar scenario played out in an unusual setting. Howard's expertly\u003cbr\u003eshaded pastels evoke the owls' feather-softness against full-bleed\u003cbr\u003eillustrations in glowing, naturalistic colors, which he augments with smaller\u003cbr\u003esepia vignettes. One particularly memorable scene features a close-up of Plop\u003cbr\u003eflanked by his parents, the three of them staring out at readers with the\u003cbr\u003esparkle of a fireworks display reflected in their large eyes. As for the round,\u003cbr\u003eplump and utterly fetching Plop himself, he's an irresistible ball of fluff who\u003cbr\u003emay well convert a host of readers to nighttime's appeal. Ages 3-up. (Aug.)\u003cbr\u003eCopyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003eA septet of Jill Tomlinson's tales from the 1960s and '70s appear with a\u003cbr\u003egenerous sprinkling of half-tone illustrations by Paul Howard, sure to attract\u003cbr\u003enewly independent readers. The tale of a frightened owlet who, with the help of\u003cbr\u003eothers, learns to appreciate the night-The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark (this\u003cbr\u003e1968 text was also adapted to a picture-book format with full-color artwork by\u003cbr\u003eHoward in 2001, from Candlewick)-appears in its unabridged version, along with\u003cbr\u003ea half-dozen other titles in a similar format: The Aardvark Who Wasn't Sure;\u003cbr\u003eThe Cat Who Wanted to Go Home; The Gorilla Who Wanted to Grow Up; The Hen Who\u003cbr\u003eWouldn't Give Up; The Otter Who Wanted to Know; The Penguin Who Wanted to\u003cbr\u003eLearn. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChildren's Literature\u003cbr\u003eAdapted posthumously from the author's 1968 British 'classic,' this story aims\u003cbr\u003eto reassure nervous young children that the darkness is friendly. Plop, the\u003cbr\u003ebaby barn owl, tells his parents that the nighttime is scary and they suggest\u003cbr\u003ehe ask others how they feel about the dark. A boy tells Plop that fireworks are\u003cbr\u003eexciting; an old lady tells him that the dark is kind; a camping scout says the\u003cbr\u003edark is fun; a girl tells him Santa can't come unless it's dark -never mind\u003cbr\u003ethat Plop hasn't a clue who Santa is. And a black cat tells him that the dark\u003cbr\u003eis beautiful and shows him the sleeping British town. In this fantasy, an owl\u003cbr\u003ecan talk to a cat without fear of reprisal, an astronomer can show an owl what\u003cbr\u003ethe stars look like through a telescope, and everything turns out just right as\u003cbr\u003ePlop learns to love the night. Young children who accept that owls, at least in\u003cbr\u003ebooks, can talk to whatever or whomever they please, will find some comfort in\u003cbr\u003ethe various interpretations of the pleasures of being out in the night and will\u003cbr\u003efind someone's opinion to identify with, although the old lady's is a stretch.\u003cbr\u003eWhile this anthropomorphic approach to the issue of night frights seems dated,\u003cbr\u003eat the very least the book provides adult readers with a conversational opener\u003cbr\u003eto help children explore their night feelings. Howard's pastel, pencil\u003cbr\u003eillustrations for this new edition depict the owl as a winsome, pudgy little\u003cbr\u003efellow and the night activities are speckled with stars and points\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Egmont Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51273170911515,"sku":"9781405271974","price":8.73,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0915\/4363\/4203\/files\/9781405271974.gif?v=1771448851","url":"https:\/\/abcschoolsupplies.co.uk\/products\/the-owl-who-was-afraid-of-the-dark","provider":"ABC School Supplies ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}