In his delightful all-ages book, "The Dog Who Wouldn't Be," Farley Mowat briefly told about the owls, Wol and Weeps. They deserved a book of their own, and here it is—["Owls in the Family,"] a wonderful tale of boys, owls and warm family life in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Mutt, the incredible dog, is here too, but only as a minor character. Wol was rescued as a pathetic owlet from a storm-wrecked nest. Weeps came out of an old oil barrel in an alley. They grew up together in the Mowat family and, like Mutt, wanted to be people too….

Mowat's charm and humor make his pictures of boyhood and family life memorable. His story is rich with unobtrusive natural history, and he achieves a rare combination of simplicity, grace and distinction in the writing.

Hal Borland, in his review of "Owls in the Family," in The New York...