OTTERS

A pleasant introduction to North American river otters and their larger cousins, the sea otters, with colored drawings on every page and an easy-to-read text. Part of the Kids Can Press Wildlife Series that includes Eagles (2000) and Beavers (1998), by Deborah Hodge, this title follows the same format with information on anatomy, range, food, homes, raising young, how otters protect themselves, otters around the world, watching for otters, a glossary and index. Some factual information is vague, for example: “A river otter has a long body and a long tail. Its head is quite flat and pointed.” For sea otters, the text reads, “Sea otters are much larger than river otters.” How long is long? How large is large? To be fair, the author states elsewhere in Watching for Otters, “If the otter looks as big as a German shepherd dog, it is probably a sea otter. Sea otters are very large—about two or three times bigger than river otters.” Since otters of either variety are seldom found in most neighborhoods, precision in identification may be less than critical and appealing illustrations will attract beginning readers. (Nonfiction. 7-10)