“As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone’s attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor.”

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 1997

Joanne Rowling (1965-), writing as J. K. Rowling, truly changed the world of children’s literature (or literature in general) with the publication of the Harry Potter series. When she was trying to publish the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, she was told she’d never make any money writing children’s books; a year after the final Harry Potter book came out, she was the highest-paid author in the world. Long before that, though, what she had was dedication to her idea, and the determination to keep working at it. Though you can trace small details about Rowling’s childhood that showed up in the Harry Potter world—like her family’s home which had a cupboard under the stairs, or her friend who drove a blue Ford Anglia—the power of her imagination was such that she created a world that millions of readers have found themselves at home in.

One of the first signs Harry Potter has that his life is about to change is the mysterious appearance of owls all around him. In the wizarding world, owls are used to deliver messages and even packages—like Harry’s first broomstick! Though you’re less likely than Harry to see them in the middle of the day, there are plenty of owls in Oklahoma. Some that you might see—or hear.

Though we may not really use owls to deliver mail, in many Native American cultures owls are believed to be messengers. For example, here are stories about the significance of owls for the Choctaw. And here you can learn the Cherokee word for owl!