As an animal lover, I love to read books about animals. They don’t have to be about cats. They can be about dogs, cats, rabbits, wildlife, etc. When I saw this book featured on the table at Border’s, I picked it up simply on the picture alone. I guess I judged a book by its cover. But I am glad that I did.
Tender, sweet, informational and highly readable is how I would describe this book. The basic premise is that the author, Stacey O’Brien, a trained biologist is working in the owl center at Caltech. Caltech usually releases their owls, and the other animals they rehab, into the wild. But one day, this little barn owl with a broken wing arrived. He would never be able to survive in the wild and Stacey was asked to adopt him. So she did.
The story progresses throughout Wesley’s 19 year life. Barn owls in the wild don’t usually live long (learn why in the book), so Wesley gave the biologists a lot of new information.
We follow Wesley through his attempts to fly, hunt and learn to swim. We watch him grow from a baby to a beautiful adult. His interactions with the world around him, Stacey, and other humans is fascinating.
A big positive of this book is due to the fact that Stacey never forgot that Wesley was a wild animal. She never pretended otherwise. We learn a lot of interesting facts about owls, but it is by no means dry. It is a light, easy read with plenty of humor.
Verdict: Read this book, as soon as you can. I give it an A.
