OWL IN LOVE

Perch outside in the cold night air with Owl as she peers through the window at her science teacher, her love, Mr. Lindstrom, sleeping in his Fruit of the Looms in a cozy bed. Hunt field mice with her in the remaining minutes before dawn, until, exhausted, she transforms into her human shape and sleeps under the watchful eyes of her knowing parents. Alyssa Bresnahan delivers the first-person narration in tremulous whispers, righteous declarations and frenzied terror. Owl's friend, Dawn, forthright and bold; Mr. Lindstrom, perplexed and defeated; and the innocent Howl, a "wereowl" long-confined as a lunatic, speak in their own distinct voices. Middle-schoolers will love this sophisticated, romantic tale. T.B. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 99]