The Snowy Owl

Margaret Bunel Edwards is a freelance writer and author of several
children’s books.

This book, cleverly presented in verse, describes the life cycle and
habits of the snowy owl living in the far North. The young reader is
introduced to the owl’s need to be ever alert while constantly seeking
food and avoiding danger. Night hunting, keen hearing and sight,
swiftness, and food supplies are all described. Snowy owls are often
forced south in their search for food; here the author emphasizes how
useful to farmers the birds are, in controlling rodents. An interesting
fact is that owl chicks are numerous when food is abundant, but nature
limits the birth rate when supplies dwindle.

The large pictures, in bright colors, faithfully illustrate the text
and downplay the reality that smaller creatures die to keep the snowy
owl alive. One lemming, about to be swallowed, has a key in its back,
suggesting a certain playfulness.

Because this book has been translated from the French edition, the text
is not always smooth, but it is clear. It is a good, scientifically
correct introduction for the four- to six-year-old reader to the ways of
nature.