Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A confident owl employs ace hunting skillssort ofto fill his tummy.Hoot Owl's hungry, but he isn't worried, because he's an excellent predator. His first quarry's a "tasty rabbit," wide-eyed and innocent. Hoot Owl has a special technique, which becomes a refrain: "Everyone knows owls are wise. But as well as being wise, I am a master of disguise." He dresses up as a carrot and sets himself down. The bunny smiles in the carrot's direction and hops away. Undeterred, Hoot Owl restarts the pattern, targeting a bespectacled lamb and a pigeon, to no avail. Hoot Owl talks a fierce and uproarious game"I swoop through the bleak blackness like a wolf in the air"; "The lamb looks cuddly, but soon I will be eating it"but he never actually attacks anything. He merely camouflages himselfbut not reallyand waits. Jullien's bold, black outlines, expressive animal eyes and positioning (Hoot Owl is frequently sideways) hilariously complement Taylor's text, which reveals the predator as both melodramatic ("The shadowy night stretches away forever, as black as burnt toast") and unflustered. Rich, matte colors and a flattish, zoomed-in perspective of the nighttime scenes keep the vibe immediate and nonthreatening. Never fear: Hoot Owl's "deadly-dangerous beak" eventually chomps on something that even squeamish readers will approve of. A rib-tickling pleaser. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Everyone knows owls are wise. But...I am a master of disguise." A self-important owl puts on various costumes (e.g., a carrot suit) in hopes of catching prey (a rabbit), but there are no takers because the costumes are (hilariously) terrible. Hoot should be bragging about how satisfying this book is: big and square; gag-filled; and brimming with bold, thick-lined illustrations. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.