In a brief text, Luenn (Mother Earth, 1992, etc.) explores the parallels between a family of humans and a family of otters a few yards away who mimic each other through a peaceful day on the river, fishing, enjoying a meal, swimming, horsing around, settling down for the night. In framed, slightly misty watercolors, Vojtech artfully poses the two groups on facing pages: child and otter stretch identically, splash with the same verve, wrestle with a parent, then snuggle, one in a sleeping bag, the other in a burrow, to dream. The otters' play of expressions may be anthropomorphic--especially on the book jacket, where they look as if they are laughing--but their gestures and postures, like the lightly detailed setting, are natural and accurately depicted. A playful, inventive way of connecting young viewers to the natural world. (Picture book. 5-7)
