Baby tawnies by Judy Paulson

Random House, 2012. ISBN 978 1 74275 576 2
(Ages: 6-8) Recommended. Picture book. Owls. A loving look at two baby Tawny Frogmouths as they begin to spread their wings, learn about their environment, testing how far they can go without taking too many risks while their parents are away fetching their food. Each night, Lyla urges Reggie to hop on the branch with her, as she tests her wings. She finds she can hop on the branch, then she attempts to creep along the branch, urging Reggie to follow. Each night they try something a little further away from the safety of their nest until one night they can fly.
But all this effort takes its toll, so when the parents return with their night's foraging, the two are fast asleep.
In alternate pages, the baby tawnies try out their wings, while the parents return with food, surprised at their offspring being asleep, but the repetition of the sequences will be intriguing to younger readers as they learn about the baby birds learning their skills, and see what the parents bring back for them to eat.
This is a lovely book to introduce baby animals and their needs and learning, as well as the role the parents play in the development of their young, and specifically, what tawny frogmouths eat.
The beautiful illustrations, models of felt, wool and wire, are stunning and readers will be as intrigued as I was in looking closely at the birds to see how they were made.
Fran Knight