Tiny Tales

Andy Runton, Owly: Tiny Tales (Top Shelf, 2008) Owly is one of the great, mostly unheralded, treasures of graphic novel-dom this decade, and Runton's fifth Owly book is just as enchanting as those that came before it. Tiny Tales collects a number of short, previously uncollected Owly stories from various publications, ranging from one-page quickies to the novella-length "Splashin' Around" and "Helping Hands". Runton also includes a short section in the back of the book on the evolution of Owly, which is precious (and I mean that in the best of ways). While I appreciate (and, in fact, dearly love) gritty, realistic graphic novelists like Brian Azzarello, Garth Ennis, Brian K. Vaughan, etc., I am equally wowed by the bucolic, escapist wonder that is Owly. If you haven't yet found your way into his world, I suggest you do so at your earliest opportunity. ****

Owly Volume 5: Tiny Tales (Owly (Graphic Novels)) (v. 5) is a collection of Owly stories by Andy Runton. As a fan of Owly and his friends, this puts together a lot of Owly stories (11 in total) never before seen in the other volumes. It also features sections in the end on: how Owly came to be, how Andy ended up with the wordless comic series, and how to draw Owly. If you're an Owly fan like me and my family, then you shouldn't miss buying this great book to add to your collection! It's well worth the price, I'm actually surprised Andy sold it for so little when I'm sure Owly fans everywhere will be willing to pay more for the treasure trove that's inside.

The Owly series is a lovely set of graphic novels, told all in pictures. Little ones will like the fact they can "read" it themselves. Older kids will like the graphic style used and the message (of caring for nature and your neighbors)the books convey.