Owly: The Way Home

Bought at a book fair at my school in Shanghai, China, in March of 2022.

Title: Owly: The Way Home
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: September, 2020
Writer: Andy Runton
Artist: Andy Runton

Two stories about Owly, a lonely owl who wants to make some friends. The first story describes how Owly meets Wormy and how they travel together to try to find Wormy's home and family, having some adventures along the way.

The second story details Owly and Wormy's friendship with Tiny and Angel, a pair of hummingbirds. Once again, there are a few adventures, but this time it's the hummingbirds who must embark on a journey as winter approaches.

This has more words than previous Owly stories I've read (I review one here), but keeps most of Owly's dialogue to symbols and pictures like in previous books.

This was a cute exploration of friendship and loyalty framed around a fun series of adventures.

Rating: 7/10

Owly and Friends Free Comic Book Day 2008

From the stack of unread comics, here's another Free Comic Book Day issue.

Title: Owly and Friends
Date: 2008
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Writer: Andy Runton, Christian Slade, James Kochalka, Corey Barba
Artist: Andy Runton, Christian Slade, James Kochalka, Corey Barba
Editor: Chris Staros

This 2008 Free Comic Book Day collection features Andy Runton's Owly as the main feature, with stories from three other all-ages comics.

Owly, an owl character whose dialogue consists of small pictures and symbols, is always cute and fun. In this installment, Owly is trying to find time to assemble a new picnic table in time for a picnic lunch with friends, but events keep getting in the way. The story is cute, although a bit long compared to other Owly comics I've read, and I have found that the shorter stories work better in Owly's format.

James Kochalka's Johnny Boo is the only story to use words as dialogue in this collection, and the story is a simple and funny one that was good for a few laughs.

Corey Barba's Yam had four different short stories in the book. Yam is more surreal than the others here, and I found it a bit hit-or-miss, although it had some very clever moments.

Finally, the highlight of the book for me was Christian Slade's "Bath Time" featuring Korgi, which was a beautifully illustrated and simple treat of a story. Especially recommended for dog-lovers!

I read this to my seven-year-old son, who enjoyed the book and seemed to get the most out of Johnny Boo.

This was fun and a nice look at some good kid-friendly titles that I might not have discovered otherwise.

Rating: 6.5/10