A sad, shivery voice sounded in the April evening. Otus the screech owl, instantly alert, answered the call, and in a moment a shadowy form flew past him. It was a female screech owl. Otus took off after her.

The mating of Otus and the female owl, and the hatching of young Otus, begin another of Mr. McClung's sensitively written life-cycle stories. He describes the little birds attempts to fly, to capture his own food, and to survive the menacing black cat, the hungry gray fox, and the fierce snowy owl from the far northland. He ends the story where it began—with the sad-sounding love call of an owl in the soft April evening.

Mr. McClung's book is rich in information, and Mr. Sandford's appealing drawings enhance the simple, poetic text. Any child interested in nature will be delighted with this story of Otus, the little screech owl with the big bright yellow eyes.

From the dust jacket