KAH-LAN AND THE STINK INK

A young male sea otter leaves his original raft to strike out on his own, encountering environmental dangers created by humans.

The present-tense narrative stays with Kah-Lan’s viewpoint as he ventures away from his mother and other female otters and pups. He is eager for adventure and to find his own companions. Hyphenated words describe much of what Kah-Lan sees and experiences: sea-trees and land-trees; stink-ink for the dark cloud of oil in the water; sea-meat for what he’d be if an orca caught him as well as his own prey; dive-and-dig and roll-and-rinse for otter actions; drift-trees for paddleboards. He recognizes the relative ages—Elders and pups—of “the strange furless ones that walk on their hind legs”; their human speech is shown in italics. Marine creatures are named in ways readers will find familiar: octopus, sea gull, seal, shark, and the orcas that would eat him. Otter habits of storing food in fur pouches, using rocks to pound shells, and meticulously grooming are all introduced. Kah-Lan’s reactions are described in terms of human emotion: he is “giddy with adventure”; he feels “prickles of concern.” When Kah-Lan and another two young male otters swim into an oil spill, he becomes very ill. The otters are taken to a marine mammal rescue center where one otter dies, but Kah-Lan is healed. An extensive author’s note offers facts and context. The mostly declarative sentences have an unvaried rhythm that makes for somewhat ponderous reading, but Autio’s empathy and Kah-Lan’s intriguing perspective help to make up for this. Children who have some familiarity with marine mammal rescue centers may be its most likely readership. (Illustrations not seen.)

A sympathetic adventure starring a beloved sea mammal.