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OLIVER'S OTTER PHASE

Deftly capitalizing on children’s predilection for imaginative play, this book neatly packs a solid informational punch.

Protagonist Oliver, a biracial boy, decides he is an otter.

During a trip to the aquarium, young Oliver delights in the antics of the playful otters and decides to become one, too. He tries in many ways to be otter-ish, though his parents take a neutral stand. When Oliver slaps a slice of bologna on his chest, Mom (who’s black) doesn’t understand but listens to him explain that this is how real otters eat. When Dad (who’s white) takes him food shopping, Oliver offers him string, pretending it’s kelp, so Dad can tie him the way otter moms care for their young when they must hunt. Dad gently replies that he is not an otter’s mother. Oliver’s imagination continues until one antic backfires and he is glad to be a boy again, except in one endearing way. Connor’s tender story captures a young child’s vivid imagination, but it is also a teacher’s dream, incorporating facts about otters in “snapshots” on each page, augmented by detailed science facts and activities in the backmatter, with permission to print. Jones’ delightful, expressive, and smooth-edged digital illustrations are an apt match with the text and add humor while also sliding in still more otter facts. A Spanish-language edition, Nico: Nutria por un día, is also available.

Deftly capitalizing on children’s predilection for imaginative play, this book neatly packs a solid informational punch. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-60718-451-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Arbordale Publishing

Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017

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FIND MOMO EVERYWHERE

From the Find Momo series , Vol. 7

A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.

Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.

Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.

A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781683693864

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Quirk Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023

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WHAT IF YOU HAD AN ANIMAL HOME!?

From the What if You Had . . .? series

Another playful imagination-stretcher.

Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.

As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.

Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: May 7, 2024

ISBN: 9781339049052

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024

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