Odder By Kathleen Applegate-A Children's Book Review

 

Product Details

• Title: Odder
• Author: Kathleen Applegate
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Feiwel & Friends (September 20, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250147425
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250147424
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 4 - 6

• ***I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own***

Book Summary

A touching and lyrical tale about a remarkable sea otter, from Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate, author of Wishtree .

Meet Odder, the Queen of Play:

Nobody has her moves.
She doesn’t just swim to the bottom,
she dive-bombs.
She doesn’t just somersault,
she triple-doughnuts.
She doesn’t just ride the waves,
she makes them.

Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she’s known. She’s a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself—and about the humans who hope to save her.

Inspired by the true story of a Monterey Bay Aquarium program that pairs orphaned otter pups with surrogate mothers, this poignant and humorous tale told in free verse examines bravery and healing through the eyes of one of nature’s most beloved and charming animals.

My Review

As a second-grade teacher, I'm always on the lookout for something new to use as a Read Aloud for my class. Odder is a darling book that teaches kids about Odder, an otter that lives off the coast of central California. Bringing the otter to life through the pages of the story, we get to know this cute, little, adventurous otter who tends to find trouble wherever she goes. 

Odder's story is written in Free Verse by Author Kathleen Applegate. Free verse is the name given to poetry that doesn't use any strict meter or rhyme scheme. Because it has no set meter, poems written in free verse can have lines of any length, from a single word too much longer. I love the opportunity this book gives me to teach this style of poetry to my students.

Here is an excerpt from the book...

Questions

Her mother called her "Odder"
from the moment
she was born.

Something about the way
the little pup never settles,
something about the way 
her eyes were always
full of questions.

To Eat or Not to Eat

A few feet away
from Odder,
her favorite companion,
Kairi, drifts on her back,
aimless as a log.

Kairi, two years older
than Odder, has
shiny ebony fur.
Odder, smaller
and more agile,
has a deep brown coat
and caramel-colored head.

Play,
Odder wants to know,
or eat?

First we eat,
then we play,
answers Kairi,
who is always practical,
a cautious sort.

This touching story is based on true life events in the 90's at the Monterey Bay Aquarium program that paired orphaned otter pups with surrogate mothers. Odder’s story is told with humor, adventure, action, and a lot of playfulness tossed in. It also teaches kids about one of the most cutest, intelligent, rambunctious, chatty, curious, and sociable animals found in the animal kingdom. I can't wait to share this story with my second graders, because I know that they also will be charmed by the delightful little otter called Odder.

*****Meet Author Kathleen Applegate*****

#1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Applegate has written many books for young readers, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal.

Katherine’s picture books include THE BUFFALO STORM, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (Clarion Books); THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF IVAN, THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Clarion Books); and SOMETIMES YOU FLY, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Clarion Books).

She’s written two early chapter series for young readers: ROSCOE RILEY RULES, a seven-book series illustrated by Brian Biggs (HarperCollins); and DOGGO AND PUPPER, a three-book series illustrated by Charlie Alder (Feiwel & Friends).

Books for middle-grade readers include HOME OF THE BRAVE (Feiwel & Friends); THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, illustrated by Patricia Castelao (HarperCollins); THE ONE AND ONLY BOB, illustrated by Patricia Castelao (HarperCollins); the ENDLING trilogy (HarperCollins); CRENSHAW (Feiwel & Friends); WISHTREE (Feiwel & Friends); and WILLODEEN (Feiwel & Friends).

With her husband, Michael Grant, Katherine co-wrote ANIMORPHS, a long-running series that has sold over 35 million books worldwide. They also wrote two other series, REMNANTS and EVERWORLD, and a young adult novel, EVE AND ADAM (Feiwel & Friends.)

Katherine’s work has been translated into dozens of languages, and her books have won accolades including the Christopher Medal, the Golden Kite Award, the Bank Street Josette Frank Award, the California Book Award Gold Medal, the Crystal Kite Award, the Green Earth Book Honor Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award, and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Many of her works have appeared on state master lists, Best of the Year lists, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and New York Times bestseller lists.

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN was made into a Disney movie starring Brian Cranston, Sam Rockwell, and Angelina Jolie.

Katherine lives in California, with her family and assorted pets. She is represented by Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties, Inc.

Learn more about Kathleen and her books HERE:

http://www.katherineapplegate.com/

~*~*~*~*Pre-Order a Copy of Odder HERE~*~*~*~*~

Hardcover-https://amzn.to/3yXi5GL

E-Copy-https://amzn.to/3PduifM