Book focuses on ‘Baby Sea Otter’

“Baby Sea Otter” by Betty Tatham, illustrated by Joan Paley, 2005, Henry Holt and Company, $17.95, hardbound, 35 pages: This delightful book tells the tale of a baby sea otter’s life. It’s filled with intense color art by the talented Joan Paley, who works in collage by cutting shapes out of textured and hand-painted papers. The otters are a treat, with realistic faces, big black noses, whiskers and a shine in their eyes, and the shimmering shades of the ocean range from purple to deep blue and almost white.
A lot of facts are imparted, such as how the mother otter blows air bubbles into both her pup’s and her own fur to help them stay warm. The pup, who is unable to dive at first, is left in a secure spot in a bed of anchored kelp while the mother searches for food. The parts which show the otters below the water are fascinating, with the animals depicted in shifting shades of green, as if the sunlight were streaming through the ocean’s surface. Brilliant fish swim alongside waving sea plants and over the sandy ocean floor.
The book tells readers how otters eat while lying on their backs in the water and how the mother otter looks out for her young when predators, such as eagles, strike.
The reader will also learn that a group of otters is called a “raft,” and that living on the water doesn’t stop a pup from playing with a friend.
The pup grows, and we see how the mother teaches her how to find food for herself. Even so, the young otter is not big enough yet to avoid peril.
There is a tense moment in which the mother is unable to find her pup, who, it turns out, has been kidnaped by a male otter and is then ransomed for food. Another alarming point is when a shark chases the young otter, who was not experienced enough to watch for such dangers while swimming alone.
Despite the scary scenes, the book is overall warm and sweet, with the otter eventually growing to have a pup of her own.
Some sea otter data rounds out the book, offering such illuminating information as the fact that up to a million furs may be found on a quarter-sized patch of a sea otter’s pelt.
Lee’s take: Visually stimulating.
J.J.’s take: Charming.

LEE AND J.J. MACFADDEN are twins and voracious readers living in Bristol, Tenn. E-mail them at .