View source for 10, 9, 8... Owls Up Late! by Georgiana Deutsch and Ekaterina Trukhan

{{infobox
|title=10, 9, 8... Owls Up Late!  
|author= Georgiana Deutsch and Ekaterina Trukhan
|reviewer= Linda Lawlor
|genre=For Sharing
|summary= A gentle tale for bedtime. Muted colours and repeated phrases will encourage children to nod off to sleep while parents thank their stars they don't have as many little ones to coax into bed as Mummy Owl does!
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Little Tiger Press
|date=August 2017
|isbn=9781848697041
|website=
|video=
|aznuk=184869704X
|aznus=184869704X
|cover=184869704X  
}}
It's tough being a mother owl. Rather than just one or two rambunctious little ones to calm down ready for bed, she has ten of them! And there's so much going on in her tree that she must sometimes despair of ever getting them to sleep. But gradually, one by one, the owlets' eyes begin to droop and they make their way to their comfy little nest until at last . . . zzzzzz!
 
The subtitle of this charming book is ''a countdown to bedtime'' which works very nicely on two levels. Firstly, we watch the last minutes of the owlets' day, before they nestle down to sleep, but the book also works as a counting aid. On the first page we see ten chubby little birds frolicking up and down the branches, practising their singing, telling jokes and playing games. At last one of them heeds Mummy Owl's call, and then we are left with nine. The story continues in the same vein (it's a nice touch for two of the owlets to be twins) until the last one stops fighting his sleepiness and as day dawns the tree is left to the ladybirds, bees and caterpillars. The final double page spread shows the owlets again, this time being counted upwards from one to ten, so children can practise their numbers both ways.  
 
The book has a good solid cover which will survive a fair amount of pre-bedtime high jinks, while the restful background colours of blue, grey and mauve subtly introduce the notion of sleep. The owlets and their friends are simply drawn, but each one clearly has his or her own personality – one wears a baseball cap, another has headphones and a third is reading a book. Most intriguing, for little fingers, are the holes cut in the pages giving a hint of what is to come: there's even one on the front cover. And the text has firm strong rhythm and plenty of repetition which will reinforce the idea of relaxation and familiarity. Definitely one for the bedroom bookshelf!
 
If you're looking for more books to lull your little darling to sleep, Bookbag recommends [[Cub's First Summer by Rebecca Elliott]], which takes you through a toddler's day from waking up till the last bedtime snuggle. You could also try [[I Love Beasts! by Emma Dodd]], which ends with the hero's favourite, a well-loved brown teddy. And while we're on the subject of bears, and books with plenty of rhythm, you mustn't miss [[The Bear in the Cave by Michael Rosen and Adrian Reynolds]]. A big adventure in the city ends happily with the bear and his new friends curled up cosily back in Bear's cave, told in Michael Rosen's inimitable jaunty style.
 
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[[Category:Georgiana Deutsch]]
[[Category:Ekaterina Trukhan]]