Owl Babies
A teacher’s look at why this book belongs in the Page Grabbers stage.
Why it fits Page Grabbers (for young toddlers who treat books as things to do)
Three owlets wait on a branch until their mother comes back - and she comes back. It is the drop-off story, full stop, and the refrain 'I want my mommy!' says the quiet part out loud. Essential for the first weeks of childcare.
What makes it special
Waddell wrote the definitive separation story: mother leaves, owlets cope, mother returns — every time. Patrick Benson's ink-hatched owls huddled in the dark nail the exact posture of waiting. Read before the first drop-off, it becomes a promise the child can hold all morning.
From the publisher
Three owl babies whose mother has gone out in the night try to stay calm while she is…
About Martin Waddell
Martin Waddell (1941–2025) was a Northern Irish master of the gentle story, twice winner of the Smarties Prize and recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award — the 'little Nobel' of children's literature. Owl Babies remains the definitive separation-anxiety book.
Waddell wrote Owl Babies after seeing a small girl lost in a supermarket, repeating 'I want my mummy' — he went home and wrote the book almost in one sitting.
Also by this author: Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? · Farmer Duck · The Pig in the Pond
More from “Just Like My Day”
This book is part of The Best Books for Toddlers: 30 Teacher Picks (Page Grabbers) in our guide The Best Children’s Books by Age — 120 books chosen by the Montessori-certified teachers at Creative Minds Montessori in Frisco, TX. Come see how we build readers →
Nobody paid for this review — not the author, not the publisher — and the store link above earns us nothing. Our only interest is the reader this book fits.