Owl Bat Bat Owl by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781406364392
Themes: Wordless Picture Book; Differences. A family of owls (is that a small 'parliament'?) settles for the day in a tree. Their rest is interrupted by the arrival of a family of bats. There is room for them all as one group is up, and the other down, but owl mother creates some distance by moving her family away from the intruders. The smallest of each animal species seems to connect to one another to the distress of the parents. A wild wind disturbs their rest and both parents realise that they are alike in being concerned for their family's safety. Over a series of pages, the two family groups connect again, with the two youngest forging the way to a nocturnal friendship.
All of this action happens through simple illustrations involving the wide eyed owls and inverted bats (or are they the right way up, and the owls are inverted?) As with many wordless picture books, this book is one where a pre-reader could tell the story to an adult listener; which makes this a great book to encourage conversation and observation. (Speech therapists might like to add this book to their collection.) On a more mature level, this could be used to begin a discussion about migration and what keeps us apart and draws us together in human society.
Carolyn Hull