Little Otter Learns to Swim

Young readers interested in animals will enjoy Little Otter Learns to Swim, written in rhyme by Artie Knapp and illustrated by Guy Hobbs. Little Otter explores her habitat under the watchful eye of her mother. She plays and has fun but also encounters predators on her adventures.

This short picture book has a sentence or two per page, appropriate for young readers to enjoy with an adult. At times, however, the rhyming can be a bit awkward:

The river, said Mother, is the safest place to be,
Away from their predators, like wolf and coyote.

The illustrations are enchanting; the full-page colour illustrations depict a delightful Little Otter, as well other animals in the freshwater habitat, such as frogs, birds, fish, and insects. There are many details for young readers to gaze at while enjoying the story. At the end of the book, there is a list of facts about the North American river otter as well as activities parents, teachers, and student can do to help support the river otter and its habitat. There is also more information on the River Otter Ecology project (http://www.riverotterecology.org/).

Little Otter Learns to Swim would make a good choice for shared reading between parents and children. It is also an excellent classroom resource for kindergarten to grade 3 students as it is a prime example of a non-fiction picture book with cross curricular links to Science. The related activities and resources at the end of the book would be very useful for teachers looking to extend learning about animals and their habitats.