The story covers the events and history of a large upper middle-class family between the late Victorian era and the 1920s. The Forsyte Saga is the best-known work of English novelist John Galsworthy (1867-1933). (Which is one reason why they remind me of Andrew Wyeth's paintings.Tutorial, commentary, study resources, plot summary Schoenherr's illustrations use the blank, white paper to create a startling contrast between the moonlit snow and the dense, dark trees. Both the language and images are spare and graceful, yet, this magical book is rich and meaningful at the same time. The resulting story is like a distillation of a magical night. "So the only response to it has to be as a poem." "The very act of going out with a child into the deep woods to call down owls is sheer poetry," explains Yolen. I guess you could call me an owler – ‘one of that band of ornithological fanatics who have fallen under the owl’s spell.’. I had the good fortune to spot a Short-eared Owl on Portland twice last December. The Barn Owl ghosted straight towards us, as bright as the moon in our headlights, before banking away at the last moment – and I still thrill at spotting one. It was Hallowe’en of all nights, and I was riding in the back of the car. It’s embedded deep in my memory, and I can clearly picture it still.
My first owl encounter was also as a child.
(Find more of my favourite owl-themed picture books listed at the end of this article.) “It’s not an exact story of David taking Heidi out owling, but an amalgam of many such trips he did with all of our children.” Yolen explains how she based it on a family tradition: “The father is my husband David, the child our daughter Heidi,” she explains. Father and child, braving the night searching for the magnificent Great Horned Owl. This haunting quality seems apt, given the subject matter. One review describes the book as haunting (defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as ‘having qualities (such as sadness or beauty) that linger in the memory: not easily forgotten’), which is certainly my experience of it. I’ve often thought of it but only recently bought myself a copy. That first encounter with Owl Moon has stuck with me. But this picture book – telling the simple story of a child’s first owling trip with their father – transported me somewhere altogether more appealing: a shadowy forest, blanketed in snow, I discovered (and first read) it in the children’s library at the University of Roehampton while waiting, with a considerable amount of trepidation, to be interviewed for a teacher training course in the early ’90s. I thought I’d continue last week’s theme (night walking) and share the magical Owl Moon by Jane Yolen (illustrated by John Schoenherr) with you.
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