Irritable Owl Syndrome

My first baby owl said, "'Whooooooo's undressed and whooooooo's in bed? Whooooooo's awake and whooooooo's asleep?'" That was the owl in my Little Golden Book, Baby Animals, by Garth Williams. When I was a baby animal in the mid-Fifties a Little Golden Book cost twenty-five cents.


There are four Little Golden Books completely imprinted in my brain. They must have been among my very first books, read to me over and over by loving parents. The other three are the profound and beautiful Pussywillow by Margaret Wise Brown, with lush collage illustrations by Leonard Weisgard, the instructive Little Red Caboose by Marian Potter, illustrated by Tibor Gergely, and My Teddy Bear, illustrated by Eloise Wilkins, with a little girl who had a dress just like mine.

When last I wandered in the public library a book jumped off the shelf into my hands. It is The Happy Owls, by Celestino Piatti. The wonderful illustrations inspired several different art projects in combination with Owl Babies, by Martin Waddell.



Happy, contented owls.



One irritable owl!



Sarah, and Percy, and Bill, of course.



The owl mother flies home.

Best wishes to all of you this Mother's Day.