Otter and Odder
A Love Story
Age 6+
General Fiction
When an otter falls in love with a fish, can he dare to follow his heart? A delicious ode to nonconformity from a stellar picture-book pair.
The day Otter found love, he wasn’t looking for it. He was looking for dinner. But then he gazed into the round, sweet, glistening eyes of Myrtle the fish, and he knew. "Impossible," he said. "I am in love with my food source." As for Myrtle, her first desire was: Please don’t eat me. But soon her heart awakened to a future she could never have imagined. The inseparable duo played hide-and-seek and told each other stories, but everyone said that was not the way of the otter. Could their love (and Myrtle) possibly survive? Aided by Chris Raschka’s illustrations in a fresh faux-naïf style, James Howe tells a warm, witty tale about finding kindred spirits in the oddest of places-and having the good sense to keep them.
Creators
James Howe is the acclaimed and beloved author of scores of books for young readers, including Brontorina, illustrated by Randy Cecil; the E. B. White Read Aloud Award-winning Houndsley and Catina and its sequels, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay; and The Misfits, the book that inspired national No Name-Calling Week. James Howe lives in New York State.
Chris Raschka, winner of the 2012 Caldecott Medal for A Ball for Daisy, is the acclaimed illustrator of many books for children, including I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin, Jr., and Michael Sampson; Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales; The Grasshopper’s Song by Nikki Giovanni; and A Poke in the I, A Kick in the Head, and A Foot in the Mouth, all edited by Paul B. Janeczko. Chris Raschka lives in New York City.
