‘I had placed one [owl] on a branch of the mango tree, and was stooping to pick up the other, when I received quite a heavy blow on the back of my head. A second or two later, the mother owl swooped down at Grandfather, but he was agile enough to duck out of its way.’ This is a collection of Ruskin Bond’s ‘small town’ stories. Meet Ranji’s wonderful bat which is his lucky charm, along with wacky parrots, ostriches, owls and a number of idiosyncratic characters in other stories. Hold your breath as Romi cycles through a raging forest fire and follow the Boy Scouts on delightful adventures. Lose yourself in timeless romantic classics ‘The Eyes Have It’ and ‘Time Stops at Shamli’ and savour the bittersweetness of ‘The Blue Umbrella’. Owls in the Family will take you on a journey through childhood and youth—through romance and thrill, leaving you enchanted with Bond’s beautiful world.