Who doesn't love owls but too twee for me. ( )

If you love owls you love this book! ( )

This book is friggen adorable! I grabbed it because I love owls and the art style caught my eye. I really didn't look at it in the store, other than to confirm each owl had it's own lovely illustration.

Reading the descriptions of the owls, I found there's quite a bit of humor! Sewell talks a bit about where each species can be found, or any special traits, but he does so with a good dose of comedy.

For example:

This description of the Short-Eared Owl - "Caught in the sunny daytime after she has been up all night, with a face like thunder, mid-walk of shame, flying over open ground looking for her pruse, mascara smeared, with a beast of a hangover. Don't get in her way, don't talk to her, just let her do what she's doing so she can get back to bed. She needs her shut-eye."

(That last sentence is essentially me.)

And he describes the Greater Sooty Owl as a "goth Barn Owl."

"African Wood Owl - He's from Africa, and he lives in the woods."

If you like owls, little nature fact books and watercolor illustrations, I think you should check out Owls: Our Most Charming Bird! ( )

I've always loved the sounds of owls in the night. When we moved into our home on the island, the first week I saw a barn owl coast across our yard at dusk, ghostly white against the darkening sky. I'd hear the "who cooks for you" of a barred own call and know they were nearby. I've seen great horned owls perched up in the live oaks in the back yard, near the lake; once, even a group of three watched me sleepily from a branch as I pushed my kayak out onto the water. The last few years we were there, screech owls took up roost out our bedroom window. They were so fascinating, and so absolutely darling, I almost didn't want to move. But we did. Within a week, I'd heard the cry of a barred owl in the trees near our new place, and knew I was truly home.

My fascination has taken expression in my art, as I love to draw owls, too. And I love to see how others draw them, which is why this book was so much fun for me. Matt Sewell's Owls: Our Most Charming Bird is a fun addition to my birder books, and while it may not be a Sibly's or a National Geographic, it has a charm of its own and is a book I will love to return to and visit the whimsical owls that grace the pages.

This is probably a better book for a beginner birder, or an owl lover than for someone who is seriously into birding, but the illustrations are truly charming. Thank you to Blogging for books for sending me this copy. ( )

Following my review of Scott Rashid's “The Great Horned Owl”, another book about these awesome birds. The species I know are here: Barn, Barred, and Great Horned (with a different sentiment than in the previous book), yet no Screech Owls. With all the biodiversity, even a sampling of 50 species can only cover so much. I am mostly familiar with birds of North America, so I get excited to learn of different species from other continents. Unlike most other guides, the birds in this little book are organized by habitat (woodland, tropical, wilderness, desert), not taxonomically or geographically.

The writings and the drawings do not seem to come from the same person, except both are quirky. The watercolors are accurate, and some of the descriptions are too, but they are also attributed human personalities, more like a non-birder's impression – or anyone on a pop culture internet page. The language is a playful vocabulary including use of alliterations. Some artistic liberties are taken, such as a star-like pattern on the Greater Sooty Owl. Some are perched on green branches or other backgrounds, but most are by themselves, and all are pretty. Each species has its own beauty: I like the colors of Southeast Asia's Spotted Wood Owl and the ice cream-like Spotted Eagle-Owl, the patterns of the Jungle Owlet and Brown Wood Owl, and the expressions of the Fearful Owl and the striking Powerful Owl – those are indeed their common names. I wish the Great Gray Owl were pictured in full, not just the close up of its face; this is more forgivable in the case of the Burrowing Owl.

If you let your own eyes unfocus, the painted eyes of these birds look even more real, and their attitudes are evident. The Brown Fish Owl has an interesting evolutionary adaptation, and the Pel's Fishing Owl of Africa looks more like a parrot or a hawk - but the author says why the real Hawk Owl is so named. Scientific names are given too, which I always appreciate. The front and back inside covers are paintings of individual feathers, and there is a checklist at the end with mirror images reprising the species list. Many are endangered, and the last species was discovered only very recently. Matt Sewell’s “Owls” makes me want to travel the world to see the real birds, or at least get to better know the local ones.

Note: I received a free copy of this title through BloggingForBooks in exchange for an honest review. For more reviews, follow my blog at http://matt-stats.blogspot.com/ ( )