The Christmas Owl
The Christmas Owl Book Summary
The Christmas Owl book by Gideon Sterer & Ellen Kalish is based on a real-life owl found in the 2020 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, who becomes the star and main character of this wonderful children’s book.
The entire story revolves around this real-life northern saw-whet owl’s adventure from living in the forest near a small town with her other forest friends. The owl sees the townspeople adding lights to their neighborhood’s buildings, homes, and trees. Little owl wonders what this unusual activity is all about until later that night when the Christmas lights are lit for the first time that holiday season the owl is amazed.
This was a first for the little owl, but some of her older animal friends had seen it before, and the moose declared that it was a Christmas tradition among the humans, but none of them knew what the true meaning of Christmas was or why this odd lighting tradition takes place each year.
The next day little owls home, a very large tree in the village, was chosen to become the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The tree was cut down and transported to the center with little own still inside the tree’s branches.
Eventually, the little owl is rescued and nursed back to health by Ellen Kalish, who works at the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center in Saugerties, N. Y. The little owl, whom Ellen named Rockefeller, made more bird friends while in Ellen’s care and starts to consider the possibility that, despite her tree being cut down, perhaps Christmas might not be such a bad thing after all.
After a short time, the little owl is nursed back to health and released back into the wild, where she is reunited with her forest friends. Rockefeller describes her experiences to her forest friends, providing them with her interpretation of Christmas.
The True Story of The Rockefeller Christmas Owl
The Christmas Owl is based on the true story of a little owl named Rockefeller. This true story inspired the children’s book The Christmas Owl, written by Gideon Sterer and co-written by Ellen Kalish, with illustrations by Ramona Kaulitzki.
Below is a video of the little owls’ tale.
The Christmas Owl Book Reading Level
The Christmas Owl book is for grade levels preschool to grade 3. Most book customers find it suitable for children between the ages of 2 to 9 years old.
The Christmas Owl book is 40 pages long and published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers on October 5, 2021. Inspired by the real-life northern saw-whet owl found in the 2020 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
If your child enjoys owls, they will love this story, which begins with wonder and curiosity and ends with renewed hope and appreciation for the Christmas season.
The Christmas Owl Story Characters
The majority of the characters in this children’s book are secondary. The majority of this charming story revolves around the adventures of Rockefeller, the little owl, with Ellen, the human from the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center, serving as the story’s central character.
The main characters in the book include:
- Little Owl
- Ellen
- Moose
- Rabbit
- Skunk
- Squirrel
- Hawk
- Falcon
Children’s Book Authors Gideon Sterer & Ellen Kalish
The Ravensbeard Wildlife Center is led by Ellen Kalish, who serves as the organization’s executive director. She has served on the boards of directors for the Woodstock Land Conservancy and the Catskill Exotic Birds Club. Previously, she was a member of the New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council. She was honored with the WRC Steward and Appreciation awards bestowed upon her by the Catskill Exotics club.
Gideon Sterer is the author and illustrator of a large number of books, some of which include From Ed’s to Ned’, Not Your Nest!, The Midnight Fair, The Night Knights, and many other works.
Gideon spent his childhood in the woodlands of upstate New York, where his parents operated a small zoo. After the park closed for the day, Gideon would sneak into the zoo and let the animals out.
Presently, you can find him residing in the Hudson Valley area of New York State.
Gideon Sterer Books
Gideon Sterer’s book titles are listed below.
- The Christmas Owl
- The Midnight Fair
- Wanted
- Skyfishing
- Not Your Nest
- The Disappearing Mr. Jacques
- The Night Knights
- From Ed’s to Ned’s
- It Began With Lemonade
For more information about Gideon Sterer and his book offerings, please visit his website at https://www.gideonsterer.com/. You can also follow Tom on Twitter https://twitter.com/gideonsterer (@gideonsterer) and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gideo_/?hl=en.
Ramona Kaulitzki Illustrator
Ramona Kaulitzki is a book illustrator based in Potsdam, Germany. Ramona’s work primarily focuses on children’s literature, with a particular fondness for drawing and storytelling. She draws inspiration from the natural world – animals, plants, and landscapes – to create vibrant images that ignite the imagination.
Ramona believes that stories can bring us closer together and encourages readers to explore their creativity through her art.
She has illustrated numerous books, including Sisters First (a #1 New York Times bestseller), Badger’s Perfect Garden, and Wonderful You.
You can find examples of Ramona Kaulitzki’s illustrations on her website https://www.ramonakaulitzkiart.com/. You can also follow Ramona on Twitter https://twitter.com/RamonaKaulitzki (@RamonaKaulitzki) and Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ramonakaulitzki/.
Where to Buy The Christmas Owl Book
The Christmas Owl is available on Amazon as a hardcover book. This link below leads to the hardcover edition of the book on Amazon.
| Amaon.com (Hardcover) | The Christmas Owl: Based on the True Story of a Little Owl Named Rockefeller Hardcover – Picture Book, October 5, 2021 |
Book Details
Children will enjoy hearing about Little Owl’s long journey on the truck to NYC, being discovered in its branches, and his rehabilitation with Ellen, as told in his own voice. The illustrations by Ramona Kaulitzki are charming. They add to the narrative; kids will love looking over the illustrations and making up their own storylines.
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (October 5, 2021)
Language: English
Hardcover: 40 pages
ISBN-10: 031629912X
ISBN-13: 978-0316299121
Reading age: 3 – 9 years, from customers
Grade level: Preschool – 3
Item Weight: 11.2 ounces
Dimensions: 8.85 x 0.65 x 11.3 inches
The Christmas Owl Reviews
At the time of this writing, there were over 600 consumer reviews on Amazon with a star rating of 4.8 out of 5. 89% of reviewers gave the book a 5-star rating. Below are a few of the top reviews of the book.
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2022
– By Pat Herman
“I read this book six times this past weekend to my Great Grand Children,. They loved it.
It was a birthday gift for my five year old great grand child. He insisted I had to read it at least three times the first day and discuss it after each reading.”
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2022
– By sbear
“Enchanting, magical
A true story of an owl that ended up in the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center and found the meaning of Christmas. A lovely story with beautiful pictures.”
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2022
– By Deborah Gibbons
“Granddaughter loved this book!
I loved following the story on the Today show about this little owl that was found in the Rockefeller Christmas tree. After I saw that a story based on this event was made into a book, I purchased it for my granddaughter and sent it across the country to Dallas. From what I’m told, My granddaughter made her mother read it about 10 times a day for a month!”
The Christmas Owl Read Aloud
This is a beautiful reading of the books, complete with full-screen visuals of the illustrations. A female narrator reads aloud the 7:34-long video.
This short 2:05 video from the Today show depicts the release of the resilient little owl Rockefeller into the wild.
