Owl Diaries: Eva’s Treetop Festival by Rebecca Elliot

Eva Wingdalelives in Treetopolis. She loves drawing and making stuff. She does not love asking for help and squirrels. Her best friend is Lucy Beakman.

Eva has a great idea after being bored one night. She is going to organize a Spring Festival for her class. There will be four contests to enter and prizes that she will make. She is so excited. Sue, an owl in her class, makes some unkind remarks about Eva being in charge.

Eva gets busy doing all the work she needs to do, but there just seems to be too much for Eva to do alone.

After remembering what her teacher told her, Eva decides to ask her classmates for help- even Sue. They are all happy to help- even Sue! The day of the festival goes well for everyone except Eva. She has a couple of mishaps during the day and is feeling defeated.

The next day at school, they give out prizes for the contests. Then, Eva’s teacher gives her a special award for being such a great organizer. Eva knows she couldn’t have done any of it without the help of her classmates, so she shares it with all of them!

This early reader is a bright and fun introduction to chapter books. It is filled with colorful pictures and short dialogue. Even though these are now far below my oldest’s reading level, she loves to go back and read one or two of these in a sitting.

There are also comprehension questions at the back of the book to make sure your child is remembering and understanding what they read. This is a great tool for early readers.

Language: When Eva is listing things she doesn’t love, she lists a person- Sue- and then she says “She is really mean.” Eva calls herself and others “squirrel-head” as an insult. She also calls Sue “Mean McMeanerson” and a “meany”. Mild words, but a possible talking point with your children.

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1. What do you do when you’re bored? What did Eva do?
2. Is it okay for Eva to call Sue names, even if she is really mean?
3. If it okay to ask for help? Is that easy or hard for you?
4. When do you need to ask others for help?