This original and lighthearted book would find a welcome home on the shelf of anyone who loves birds, or anyone who likes the off-beat.

Matt Sewell has produced an amusing gem of a book with quirky watercolor pictures and tongue-in-cheek descriptions of several of the world's owl species. Of the Great Gray Owl, he says "with a head like a geodesic dome inhabited by a bunch of strung out hippies, the Great Gray Owl looks like he's been hanging out with these guys for some time." And the Eurasian Pygmy Owl is delightfully described as one who "bumbles around the woods hunting birds twice his size, like a pocket-sized politician after a liquid lunch."

Although this is more entertainment than field guide, you'll still walk away learning a few things (chuckling all the while).

Thank you to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Who doesn't love owls but too twee for me. ( )

If you love owls you love this book! ( )

This book is friggen adorable! I grabbed it because I love owls and the art style caught my eye. I really didn't look at it in the store, other than to confirm each owl had it's own lovely illustration.

Reading the descriptions of the owls, I found there's quite a bit of humor! Sewell talks a bit about where each species can be found, or any special traits, but he does so with a good dose of comedy.

For example:

This description of the Short-Eared Owl - "Caught in the sunny daytime after she has been up all night, with a face like thunder, mid-walk of shame, flying over open ground looking for her pruse, mascara smeared, with a beast of a hangover. Don't get in her way, don't talk to her, just let her do what she's doing so she can get back to bed. She needs her shut-eye."

(That last sentence is essentially me.)

And he describes the Greater Sooty Owl as a "goth Barn Owl."

"African Wood Owl - He's from Africa, and he lives in the woods."

If you like owls, little nature fact books and watercolor illustrations, I think you should check out Owls: Our Most Charming Bird! ( )

I've always loved the sounds of owls in the night. When we moved into our home on the island, the first week I saw a barn owl coast across our yard at dusk, ghostly white against the darkening sky. I'd hear the "who cooks for you" of a barred own call and know they were nearby. I've seen great horned owls perched up in the live oaks in the back yard, near the lake; once, even a group of three watched me sleepily from a branch as I pushed my kayak out onto the water. The last few years we were there, screech owls took up roost out our bedroom window. They were so fascinating, and so absolutely darling, I almost didn't want to move. But we did. Within a week, I'd heard the cry of a barred owl in the trees near our new place, and knew I was truly home.

My fascination has taken expression in my art, as I love to draw owls, too. And I love to see how others draw them, which is why this book was so much fun for me. Matt Sewell's Owls: Our Most Charming Bird is a fun addition to my birder books, and while it may not be a Sibly's or a National Geographic, it has a charm of its own and is a book I will love to return to and visit the whimsical owls that grace the pages.

This is probably a better book for a beginner birder, or an owl lover than for someone who is seriously into birding, but the illustrations are truly charming. Thank you to Blogging for books for sending me this copy. ( )