Owls in the Family (1961) by Farley Mowat #1961Club

🦉 Farley Mowat is one non-fiction writer I have newly 'found' two years ago; Never Cry Wolf was one of my favorite non-fictions I have read for #NonFicNov. So, when I found out, when I was searching something to read for #1961Club, that he also wrote children fictions, how could I resist? And I'm glad I have picked this one (over others on the list), since it proved to be a delightful read; just the one to kick off #1961Club! 🦉 Billy lives in Saskatoon, Canada, near a prairie. He's a boy who loves animals, and he already owns so much pet (dogs, cat, pigeons, rabbits, and gophers - oh, and rats also). But does it mean he could resist adding owls into his menagerie? Of course not! Billy asked his French teacher, who loves animals (besides photography and prairie), to help him catching an owlet from its nest up on one poplar bluff, but that ended in a hilarious flop, which was written perfectly in Mowat's style I remember from Never Cry Wolf. So, Mr. French is out of the picture, but Billy eventually found a way of catching an owlet by himself, whom he calls Wol. 🦉 Wol is a young horned owl. Billy found the nest when he's having a stroll, with his pals Bruce and Maurice, right after a great storm. Two of Wol's siblings had died, and it was when Billy & co. were working on a funeral for the dead siblings, they found Wol - the only survivor. Apparently owls hatched one day after another (not at the same time), and Wol is the biggest, and most probably the strongest of the three - hence he's survived. It's information like this which makes Mowat's books fun to read - he combines knowledge, good narrative skill, and sense of humour into wonderful books. I wouldn't have known that crows and owls are enemy if I didn't read this book, for instance.

🦉 Wol grew up as a pet owl, meaning that he can't fly (no one teaches him to), but mimicking the boys' actions. Although he eventually flew when accidentally fallen off a branch, but he only does it when needed. Wol doesn't haunt, except for skunks. Horned owls seem to hate skunks, they're the only owls family who eat skunks. Hilarious moment it was when Wol brought skunk home for dinner (he used to dine with the family), and the family avoided him after that for days. It ended up with the father bathed him in tomato juice.

🦉 Wol likes to tease Mud, the family's old dog, like hiding his bones or dinner. Occasionally Wol would also playing the tail-squeeze game, which used to enrage Mud - poor old dog! But that's not the only funny scene between Wol and other animals in the book. I don't know which scene is funnier, the one when Wol is mad when he's almost drawn in the river, or when the Prairie chicks were just hatched, and went between Wol's foot thinking he's their mother. Wol then resignedly lower his feathers to warm the chicks. It would surely be a silly yet sweet thing to watch! Later on, another owl named Weeps was added to the menagerie - another owl to accompany Wol. In short, this is a charming book to read - children or adult. Hilarious and refreshing, but also provides some knowledge about animals and nature.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

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The 1961 Club

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