Tanna’s Owl
by Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley
illustrated by Yong Ling Kang
Inhabit Media, 2019
ISBN 978-1-772277-250-5
$16.95 (hc), 33 pp, ages 6 – 10
inhabitmedia.com
Young Tanna lives in the far north in a simple cabin surrounded by nature. She leaves her home for school each year and this story begins as she comes home for the summer. Tanna’s father gives her an orphaned owl to care for. Tanna takes ownership and learns responsibility, patience, and respect for nature. When Tanna leaves for school in the fall, she worries about her owl, but is happy to be free of the responsibility of caregiving. The next summer when Tanna returns home, she learns her owl has left to live its own life. Her father teaches her, “The owl didn’t belong to us.”
Classroom Connections: Great for a read aloud and classroom discussions about respect for nature, the importance of caring for one another, and the beauty of spreading our wings to fly free. Also useful to encourage an animal research project. Reading Comprehension Strategies: Making Connections and Transforming.
Review by Amanda Forbes.
This review is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Winter 2021 issue.
