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It began
in a dream...
The Five Owls was founded in 1986 by graphic designer Holly Ramsey. Holly was a lover of children's books and the mother of a six-year-old. When, at the age of 26 she had been stricken down with Multiple Sclerosis, the idea of The Five Owls came to her in a dream. When the MS threatened to end Holly's career as a designer, Holly responded by founding this magazine as an endeavor she could manage from her living-room sofa.
The first seven years of the magazine's life were a time of slow but steady growth of the subscriber base and The Five Owls' reputation. Then the life of the magazine was disrupted when Holly fell ill and ovarian cancer was diagnosed in 1991.
Holly passed away in 1993, and her collection of over 6,000 children's books and the magazine itself were transferred to Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Before Holly's death, however, a beautiful reading room was created at Hamline to house her books. With Holly present, it was dedicated on July 20, 1993 as "The Five Owls Reading Room."
In 1997 The Five Owls returned to its original home after the university determined it could not successfully operate the magazine.
About Us
The Five Owls is a
quarterly publication devoted to the field of children's literature. In every issue of The Five Owls, you'll enjoy a lively mixture of book reviews, articles about books and reading, and interviews with leading authors, illustrators, and other people whose outstanding contributions will shape the future of children's books. The Five Owls
brings together many of today's finest books and writers in
issue after issue of fascinating and informative reading.
The original five owls were part of the weather-vane of a children's library on Long Island. In 1924, they inspired Anne Carroll Moore of the New York Herald Tribune to call her weekly children's book column "The Three Owls." Moore's owls represented author, illustrator and critic. When Holly Ramsey founded our magazine in 1986, she brought the two remaining owls back into the roost and designated them as book editor and designer, bringing the owl population to five.