Hootie the owl lived in enchanted wood.
She had big brown eyes as wide as saucers.
Her friends called her Hootie the Cutie because
she was the smallest owl in the wood.
Hootie the Cutie is the smallest owl in the wood and her wise owl father is determined to keep her safe. Hootie would love to join in some of the fun things happening in her magical forest. But comes a day when even Papa Owl is stumped. Something surprising and a little worrying is happening deep in the cave. Hootie is the only one brave enough, and small enough to investigate. She finds another small magical creature who needs help. Illustrations are full warm colour with loose drawn pencil characters, while Hootie herself is prominent in pink.
Being small, and possibly also because she is female, everyone seems to think that Hootie needs protection from the rough and tumble of everyday life in a magical wood. Certainly her father does. And while his protection is well motivated, it doesn’t allow her to develop her own skills or to take her own place in her community. Hootie is determined too and when her chance come, it is Hootie who shows great bravery in face of the unknown. Recommended for young readers and those who need to know that size doesn’t necessarily preclude bravery.
Hootie the Cutie, Michelle Worthington ill Giuseppe Poli New Frontier Publishing 2014 ISBN: 9781921928000
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller