I Know How to Draw an Owl

Belle draws the best owl in class, but she doesn’t say why: she sees them in the park, where she and her mother sleep.

Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner!

Belle and her mother used to have a house, a table, and chairs, a home like any of Belle’s classmates’. But things changed. Now, they curl up each night in a blanket nest in their old blue car, with their things packed in around them. 

The first night was hard, but they’ve never been alone: their friend the owl has always been nearby, hooting in its tree, looking out for them. Belle longs to catch sight of it, and one night, she finally does. That’s how she learned to draw an owl. 

No one knows that story. But when a new boy comes to school, a boy whose car looks like Belle’s, a boy who looks lost and scared, it’s Belle’s turn to watch over someone. 

Hilary Horder Hippely’s soulful text pairs with Matt James’s atmospheric illustrations in a book all too relevant to the realities of many families. Neither flinching nor sensationalizing, I Know How to Draw an Owl is a deeply empathetic and age-appropriate portrayal of a family experiencing housing insecurity.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection