Spotted Owlets

Kelly L. Green is co-author of The Ethical Shopper’s Guide to Canadian
Supermarket Products and associate editor of the Canadian Book Review
Annual.

These two charming picture books, which share the same author and
illustrator, are superb samples of the increasing volume of nonfiction
literature being written for young children. Sea Otter Pup is a day in
the life of a baby sea otter whose mother carefully wraps him in kelp
while she searches for food and cradles him as he sleeps after his meal.
Spotted Owlets follows a similar pattern, as mother and father owl
conscientiously tend their young owlets, who are learning to climb and
fly.

Both stories are interesting and well told. Miles uses short sentences
and a limited vocabulary. Gatt’s illustrations are muted, realistic,
and, in the case of Sea Otter Pup, slightly anthropomorphic. Both author
and illustrator have researched their material well, consulting expert
naturalists and providing a note on the animals’ history and habitats
at the end of the book.

An excellent introduction for preschoolers to animals they don’t hear
about every day, these books will be equally good selections for early
readers up to Grade 2. Inexpensive and a good size for carrying around,
they are recommended as a wonderful presentation of natural science for
the very young.