Maluck adds, “I think it's great that Owly still communicates strictly in symbols and images, which reinforces to readers that he and his friends are able to understand different methods of expression.”Īdapting the books is a lengthy undertaking. On the other hand, parents and caregivers who want to read Owly aloud now have options.” On one hand, a textless story invites purely visual interpretation to the point that a very young reader could understand every story beat without knowing a word. “The use of words for dialogue and captions is a double-edged sword in Owly books. Thomas Maluck, teen services librarian at Richland Library (SC), appreciated the original books but welcomes the adaptations. “We thought, what if Owly has his own little language and the other animals are bilingual?” says Runton. When Wormy tells Owly, “It’s very sunny today!” his text is accompanied by a picture of a beaming sun. Runton also includes pictorial “translations” of the characters’ words that keep the tales accessible to all readers. “It was really special to me to have that self-esteem boost built into the book, because that’s what I wanted as a kid.” He was a struggling reader growing up, and he has always wanted to write stories that all kids, no matter their ability, could understand. “A lot of people relate to the fact that he doesn’t speak, or he has trouble speaking, or however they see it,” says Runton, who had personal reasons for preserving Owly’s speech patterns. Raccoon, and the other forest denizens speak in words, Owly still communicates with pictures-something that has long resonated with readers, including the Deaf community. There’s not a lot of room in a speech bubble.” His years of visiting schools, where he interpreted what characters were saying as he “read” the books aloud, came in handy. “Sometimes using a symbol is a lot easier than writing a succinct four-word sentence. So he crafted dialogue, which at times was challenging. But that choice felt distancing, as though readers were outside the story. When Runton started working on The Way Home, he included narration but no dialogue. Graphix editor Megan Peace says, “While adding color to the series was something we were excited about, adding words was a different story-it made us nervous, as fans have loved the wordlessness of Owly.” And though the original stories were wordless, with characters communicating in symbols and pictures, they now have text. The books are now in full color-which Top Shelf, a smaller indie press, didn’t have the budget for. Other installments will follow, and Runton has plans for a new tale. The Way Home (first published as The Way Home & the Bittersweet Summer) was released earlier this month. And the messages of kindness and helping others are needed now more than ever.” “The books have such heart: Reading them simply makes you feel good. “It turned out that his son was a huge fan, and he believed there was still a place for Owly,” Runton says.ĭavid Saylor, vice president and publisher of Graphix, had always loved Owly, too. “They felt that ship had sailed,” he says.īut a few people still believed in the books, among them Barry Goldblatt, who became Runton’s agent and helped bring the series to Scholastic's Graphix imprint. Then he was met with a spate of rejections from agents and publishers. He originally published the books with Top Shelf Productions but left, hoping to expand the series’s reach. Fans will be pleased to see the return of these gentle stories that center on a big-eyed, expressive bird who’s always ready to lend a hand to those in need. After years of languishing in out-of-print limbo, Andy Runton’s “Owly” graphic novels have finally found a new home-at Scholastic.
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