Odder: An Otter’s Story

PreS-Gr 1–This picture book hybrid is based on a true story and on the successful middle grade novel of the same name. Odder, an adventurous baby sea otter, loves to play and take risks. When she is separated from her mother, she is rescued and rehabilitated by humans. Unwilling to curb her sense of curiosity and adventure, Odder is injured by a shark and returned to the rehabilitation center, where she slowly discovers a new talent: teaching other orphans the skills they need in to survive in the wild. Odder’s story is lengthy, and better told in the middle grade version of these events. For younger children, movement between the otter world and that of humans is confusing. A key scene in which Odder is attacked by a shark is described so passively that readers may not grasp the degree of Odder’s injuries. Another scene, in which Odder first learns to help new pups, is drawn out and seems very intellectualized. However, the art is superb and the book’s water scenes convey a sense of swirling movement that mirror Odder’s playfulness.