Early Book Review: Owling: Enter the World of the Mysterious Birds of the Night by Mark Wilson

Owling: Enter the World of the Mysterious Birds of the Night by Mark Wilson is a children's nonfiction book currently scheduled for release on March 5 2019. Wildlife photojournalist and nature educator Mark Wilson presents a look into the mysterious lives of these distinctive birds. Images of the nineteen owl species of North America nesting, flying, hunting, and catching prey are accompanied by information about the birds’ silent flight, remarkable eyes and ears, haunting calls, and fascinating night life. Kids will learn how to spot owls; identify their calls, plumage, and pellets; and even carry on a hooting conversation with a nearby owl.
Owling is a well written book about owls. The pages are bright and bold, with full color photographs and diagrams. The text is broken into manageable portions, with fun questions and facts scattered through the pages to further engage readers. I really enjoyed seeing the differences and similarities between different kinds of owls. I also found the detailed information about each of the native North American owls to be well organized and written. I found the information on finding owls, and on how to make my yard and the environment in general, more owl friendly to be very helpful and responsibly done. I like getting information like this, which benefits the wildlife I love as much as myself. I also found the chapter on working with owls to be extremely interesting, since animal rehab or working in a zoo environment is likely to be in my daughter's future is current trends continue. The glossary and other resources in the endpapers were useful as well, and I think will help encourage young readers to explore further.

Owling is an interesting and well organized non fiction book for middle grade and older readers. I thought I knew a lot about owls, but I was glad to learn some new information here and will be using resources like ebird.org to help find owls with my children. 

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