Children - Fiction & Literature

Owen

Name: Owen
Author: Kevin Henkes
ISBN: 9780688114497

by Kevin Henkes

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Overview

Owen had a fuzzy yellow blanket. "Fuzzy goes where I go," said Owen. But Mrs. Tweezers disagreed. She thought Owen was too old for a blanket. Owen disagreed. No matter what Mrs. Tweezers came up with, Blanket Fairies or vinegar, Owen had the answer. But when school started, Owen't mother knew just what to do, and everyone — Owen, Fuzzy, and even Mrs. Tweezers — was happy.

Owen's parents try to get him to give up his favorite blanket before he starts school, but when their efforts fail, they come up with a solution that makes everyone happy.

Synopsis

Publishers Weekly

A worthy addition to Henkes's ( Chester's Way ; Julius, the Baby of the World ) impressive, engaging oeuvre, this animated tale takes up the case of a wee mouse's devotion to a no-longer-fuzzy blanket named Fuzzy. Imbued with Henkes's characteristically understated humor, spry text and brightly hued watercolor-and-ink pictures chronicle how Owen's next-door neighbor, Mrs. Tweezers, suggests to Owen's parents a series of ploys to separate their son--who is soon to start school--from Fuzzy. The ingenious mouse foils each attempt, until his resourceful mother stumbles upon ``an absolutely wonderful, positively perfect, especially terrific idea.'' With some snipping and sewing, she transforms the beloved blanket into a batch of very portable handkerchiefs, a stratagem that not only keeps Owen happy but manages to silence the meddling Mrs. Tweezers. Even youngsters unattached to a Fuzzy-like object will feel a kinship with the winningly wily Owen--and parents of the attached may find a useful solution to an age-old dilemma. Ages 3-up. (Sept.)

About the Author, Kevin Henkes

With his lively illustrations and adorable menagerie of mice, Kevin Henkes brings compassion and a comic touch to such everyday childhood ordeals as starting school, being teased and getting lost.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A worthy addition to Henkes's Chester's Way ; Julius, the Baby of the World impressive, engaging oeuvre, this animated tale takes up the case of a wee mouse's devotion to a no-longer-fuzzy blanket named Fuzzy. Imbued with Henkes's characteristically understated humor, spry text and brightly hued watercolor-and-ink pictures chronicle how Owen's next-door neighbor, Mrs. Tweezers, suggests to Owen's parents a series of ploys to separate their son--who is soon to start school--from Fuzzy. The ingenious mouse foils each attempt, until his resourceful mother stumbles upon ``an absolutely wonderful, positively perfect, especially terrific idea.'' With some snipping and sewing, she transforms the beloved blanket into a batch of very portable handkerchiefs, a stratagem that not only keeps Owen happy but manages to silence the meddling Mrs. Tweezers. Even youngsters unattached to a Fuzzy-like object will feel a kinship with the winningly wily Owen--and parents of the attached may find a useful solution to an age-old dilemma. Ages 3-up. Sept.

Children's Literature - Susie Wilde

Beginning school for the first time can be scary. Young readers can help a brother or sister by telling them what school is like and what to expect. They can also read Henkes' book to them. Owen is a mouse who's afraid to face kindergarten without his fuzzy blanket. A nosy, pushy neighbor tries to get Owen's parents to do all kinds of horrible things until finally, Owen's mother comes up with "an absolutely wonderful, positively perfect, especially terrific" solution to the problem. The only thing better than this book would be having a big sister or big brother willing to share lots of school experiences and good ideas.

Hazel Rochman

Like the kids in "Jessica" (1989) and "Chrysanthemum" (1991), Owen the mouse is a sturdy and vulnerable individual, and he is everychild. This time Henkes' droll, gentle picture book is about the toddler's fierce attachment to his security blanket. Simple, lovely words with pen and watercolor illustrations show and tell us that Owen loves his fuzzy yellow blanket with all his heart. "He carried it. And wore it. And dragged it. He sucked it. And hugged it. And twisted it." Fuzzy likes what Owen likes and bears the proof of it, from chocolate milk to peanut butter. When busybody neighbor Mrs. Tweezers suggests to Owen's parents that Owen is old enough to give up Fuzzy, Owen is terrified, but he outwits all their tricks. The blanket goes where he goes: in the bathtub, at the dinner table, to the dentist. But then comes the crisis: How will he go to school? There's no condescension or sentimentality. With a few simple lines, Henkes can transform Owen's nonchalant play into a shocked stillness, his terror expressed in his wide-staring eyes. Perhaps the most memorable frame of all shows Owen snugly enfolded with his scrappy blanket in the heavy, embracing curves of his bedclothes. Henkes' story takes us into the physical immediacy of a small child's day, and kids will recognize both the screaming anguish and the mischief.