Review by Booklist Review
This lively picture book follows three little owls around the year, from Christmas to Christmas. They cavort atop a wardrobe, catch a speech-writing fish, and dance on rooftops before flying off to zigzag around the world. Feeling forlorn as he sits alone atop the wardrobe in the rain, the poor fish cheers up when he spies the three little owls returning with a huge basket containing a Christmas feast. Yes, the plot is absurd, but the rhythmic, rhyming verses keep the story humming along, while the droll, expressive ink-and-watercolor illustrations make it soar. The book is a collaborative effort. Blake was asked to illustrate the manuscript, which was found in the papers of Italian illustrator, stage designer, and animator Luzzati (1921-2007). Yeoman worked on the English version of the text. This book won't suit every child, but those who love nonsense verse and Blake's artwork will savor every absurd, joyful moment.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In 2009, following an exhibition of Blake's work at the Museo Luzzati in Genoa, Italy (which houses the work of the late Italian illustrator), Blake was asked to illustrate Luzzati's manuscript Filastrocca di Natale. The result, translated into English here by Blake's frequent collaborator Yeoman, is a blithe nonsense rhyme with just a hint of the Christmas setting suggested by Luzzati's original title. The story opens on Christmas Day with three owls standing atop a wardrobe; they lay eggs, don extravagant outfits, and hook an unusual fish in a barrel: "With green wings and glasses he hasn't the look/ Of something you'd normally find on a hook./ He's writing some speeches (although he can't speak)/ In languages ranging from Hindi to Greek." The story jumps forward through the year as the owls dance on rooftops, nap, and traverse the globe before returning to deliver an enormous feast in time for the following Christmas. The wide-eyed owls take on a goofy, Marx Brothers-esque comedic air in Blake's ever-energetic ink-and-watercolor illustrations-just right for the idiosyncratic hops and skips of Luzzati's story. Ages 3-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Reminiscent of the work of Edward Lear, this nonsense poem, translated from the original Italian, is a silly and enjoyable read-aloud. It has a flowing rhythm and scans perfectly, and the repeated refrain, "With a bop and a bip and a bip and a bop/A wardrobe with three little owls on the top," is fun to read. The tale covers from one Christmas to another and tells of the escapades of three young birds with a penchant for adventure. They play dress up, go fishing in a barrel, travel the world (having breakfast in England and tea in China), and return with a wonderful surprise for everyone. Blake's whimsical pen and ink and watercolor pictures are filled with color and movement as the three silly birds perform their antics. It's a hoot.-Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The irrepressible Blake supplies illustrations for Yeoman's English translation of the late Luzzati's rhyming verses, "Filastrocca di Natale." The refrain is infectiously nonsensical: "With a bop and a bip and a bip and a bop/ A wardrobe with three little owls on the top. / And each of the three has decided to lay / A shiny white egg as it's Christmas today." The three loosely drawn pen-and-ink owls are differentiated by different wash colors, slightly different body types and appealing tufts on the bluish owl. They are a friendly trio, staring out from the page with large, round white eyes and clutching their individual eggs with sturdy, fingerlike feathers. Underneath is the hint of a wooden wardrobe. Blake's trademark artwork continues to delight, as he shows the owls in their odd party garb; one is "wearing a gigantic vase for a hat." Before setting off on a year's journey that takes them around the world, the owls pull from a barrel a most unusual and learned fish, depicted in a whimsical double-page spread. While the "bops" and "bips" of the rhyme keep the youngest viewers happy, older children will enjoy such absurdities as the fish fretting about getting wet. The owls' return to England coincides with Christmas, giving the book some holiday appeal as well. Happy nonsense that feels very British despite its Italian origins. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
