Owl Moon

Written by: Jane Yolen

First line: It was late one winter night, long past my bedtime, what Pa and I went owling.

Why you should read this book: A little girl recounts her experience of going out with her father to look for owls for the first time. She knows she must be quiet, and brave, and inured to the cold, and that, even then, there might not be an owl, but her excitement at being taken on this adventure by her father is enough to give her strength, and, of course, in the end, there is a beautiful owl to look at "For one minute, three minutes, maybe even a hundred minutes." Written in delicious prose just as cool and pure as the snow that covers this Caldecott-winning book, it's a good choice for reading aloud.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Your kids are already bringing home wild animals they find everywhere and you're running out of space.