Martha Begley Schade
Why Look at this Book?This charming & beautifully illustrated book is a useful reader for preteen social science discussions, where the key focus points in this book are friendship, depression & lifestyle choices. The Main StoryThis endearing story is excellent at outlining the importance of friendship and teaches young readers especially preteens to talk about their issues if they are depressed.The owl, Tristan, is rejected by all other animals in the woods because he is just “not normal”; always “off-balance”.It takes the curious cat, Emily to come along and change all that. She helps set up safety nets around Tristan to prevent him getting as hurt when he loses his balance. Although it takes some time for trust to develop, she perseveres and carefully starts introducing new lifestyle choices to Tristan that may help him combat his depression. The Premise of this StoryThis book covers issues such as depression, kindness, friendship as well as our lifestyle choices. The talking points at the end of the story help stimulate discussion around these topics. In addition, there are fun facts about owls to get detailed insights about the animals. 3
