OLIVER'S WOOD

Oliver, an owl, stays up past his bedtime at the end of one night and sees something he has never seen before—the sun. Oliver wants to tell someone about it, but all his friends—the ``spiky hedgehogs'' and the ``stripy badgers''—are asleep. None of the animals who are awake—awake as usual—are the least bit interested. Feeling ever-so-lonely, Oliver finally falls asleep. When his friends wake him up in the middle of the night, he is compensated for all his earlier disappointments, for they are duly impressed when they hear about the sun. Hendra's simple text has flair: The adjectives conjure up funny images, while the story gives readers plenty to think about, without ever using the words nocturnal and diurnal. Gouache illustrations look much like linoleum prints—blocks of bright colors, mainly blue and ocher— and the chubby animals, with their bulging white eyes, are undeniably friendly territory. (Picture book. 2-4)