Knight Owl and Early Bird
It pains me to place this book in this category, but this is one of the scarier stories we’ve run into (the scary moment is when wolves try to attack Knight Owl in a dark forest). My little one won’t listen to it or flip through the pages without being on someone’s lap. It’s too bad, as the illustrations are really well done (this is part of why it is so scary) and the idea of an owl and an early bird as main characters with all their similarities and differences as animals is adorable. Even the lesson of the story, friendship, is a great concept to read about and model.
However, I just can’t quite yet endorse intentionally soaking my little one’s brain in cortisol and adrenaline. It also didn’t help that we don’t really appreciate Early Bird’s impatient, rapid fire style of conversing. It might be realistic and funny to some parents but it’s something we intentionally teach our little one not to do.
Cautions: The story is scary, and both the wolves and the knights are drawn to be frightening.
