Review Detail

Eva and the New Owl (Owl Diaries #4)

Kids Fiction 345

Make new friends, but keep the old

June 15, 2016 (Updated: July 01, 2026)

Overall rating

4.5

Plot

4.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Eva is very excited about the new owl, Hailey, at her school. She tries very hard to be nice, making a map of the area and a necklace for Hailey, but feels rejected when Hailey doesn't immediately wear the necklace or accept her invitations. While spending so much time thinking about the new student, Eva neglects her best friend Lucy, and the two fall out. With the help of her older brother, as well as Mrs. Featherbottom, her teacher, Eva finds a way to make up with Eva, and soon all three owlets are friends.

Good Points

The artwork in this book is absolutely adorable, and there are lots of small pictures of Eva's school mates, her own artwork, lists she makes, etc. The colors are bold and trendy, and the collage style owls deserve to be hung on walls as decorations!

I appreciated the fact that while Eva considers one of her classmates, Sue, a "Meany McMeanerson", she acknowledges that some days Sue is nice, and most of the characters are very polite and kind to each other. Most of the drama is a result of misunderstanding instead of actual meanness.

While this is an early chapter book that fans of Ivy and Bean and Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie will gladly pick up, the length (80 pages) and variety of text types (speech bubbles, lists, etc.) make this a challenging read for second graders who will be so engrossed in the story of friend drama that they will gladly keep straight all of the cute characters. Expect readers of book one (Eva's Treetop Festival) to want to read the entire series!