The rescue of a snowy owl from a downtown Portland building a year ago has resulted in a new children’s book by a pair of Maine artists.

“A Snowy Owl Story,” published by Islandport Press, tells of a wayward owl who flew to Portland in January 2014 from its home in the Arctic and took up temporary residence in a building at India and Commercial streets. The owl was rescued, pronounced healthy and released into the wild on Maine’s midcoast.

Writer Melissa Kim and illustrator Jada Fitch turned the owl’s story into a book for youngsters at the suggestion of Maine Audubon education director Eric Topper.

He was looking for a teaching tool for preschoolers and thought a board book telling of the owl’s unusual journey would be an effective way to talk about migration. The book is the first in the series “Wildlife on the Move.” The goal is to bring stories about wildlife migration, conservation and respectful human interaction with nature to a pre-K through second-grade audience.

Kim and Fitch are working on a second book about the threatened brown bat and its struggle with white-nose syndrome. Islandport will publish the bat book in the fall.

“When you look for books for little kids, you can find a lot of natural history books, but there is very little with a narrative story,” Kim said. “To tell a story about an individual rather than a species is easier for a kid to grab on to.”

Maine Audubon will mark the release of the book at its winter carnival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Gilsland Farm in Falmouth. The celebration will include games and activities, indoor arts and crafts, music, refreshments and readings.

They’ll also sign from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 21 at L.L. Bean as part of Freeport FebFest, and from 5 to 7 p.m. March 6 during First Friday Art Walk at Maine College of Art in Portland. Fitch is a MECA graduate.

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