Odder: The Novel

In beautiful verse, Katherine Applegate tells the tender story of a sea otter rescued by humans after being injured. As she did so wonderfully with The One and Only Ivan, Applegate brings the reader into the mind and heart of Odder, so named because of her enthusiastic and wild behavior. After being separated from her mother, Odder is rescued as a pup and brought into the Monterey Bay Aquarium to be raised. After being taught how to find food and swimming in the ocean with a human, she leaves to live in the wild. But an encounter with a great white shark leaves her badly injured bringing her back to the aquarium. Applegate based the story on the work the Monterey Bay Aquarium is doing with sea otters, both in the wild and at the aquarium in an effort to keep the population thriving. Odder makes a great sympathetic character as she struggles to adapt to her shifting circumstances. I also found it fascinating to read the story from Odder's point of view. The gorgeous illustrations, including the stunning cover, draws readers right into the story. While the story is told from Odder's perspective, she behaves exactly like an otter should, diving, and hunting, wary and curious. The dangers of life in the wild are not glossed over as Odder faces storms, predators, and even the risks of approaching people. And the challenges scientists face in trying to help an injured or lost wild animal are clearly depicted. A wonderful tale of survival and rescue, fear and hope, and the importance of taking care of the earth and all its creatures.

Odder is based on a true story of the Monterey Bay Aquarium program that pairs orphaned otter pups with surrogate otter mothers. We meet Odder at the beginning, who is out having fun with her friend Kairi. Even though most of the time sharks don't eat otters, occasionally things happen, and it doesn't end well for the otter. However, Odder is rescued and taken to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She has been there before because when she was a pup herself, a massive storm rolled in while her mother was off gathering food, and Odder ended up someplace she wasn't supposed to be, and people from the aquarium rescued her. I will not tell you how this story turns out, but there are happy and sad moments when reading this story. This story is told in verse. While we feel like we really know what Odder is going through, at the same time, facts are brought into the story that teaches people about sharks (a little bit) and otters. I liked this story. I, like many people, think that otters are cute. It was an excellent way to learn a little bit more about them and the dangers of the ocean and humans. As well as learn about the program, Monterey Bay Aquarium now has for orphaned otter pups and surrogate otter moms. I have read some of her other books, and like those books, this one did not disappoint. I am so glad I picked it up. One thing that I didn't realize until I went to read it was that it was a novel in verse, but I am really coming to like them.

The story is written as a poem about an odder. My reluctant reader liked it because there weee fewer words on each page so he felt good about finishing a thicker book quickly.

The entire spine of the book was damaged as was the cover. Several wrinkled pages. Packaging was fine, it was just the book that was defective.

Beautiful book. Great for any reader.

I picked up this book after seeing it on lots of homeschool blog posts. The book turned out to be a wonderful jumping board to tons of discussions with my 8 year old. We both enjoyed the format, the information, the story and the view from Odders world. A definite must to add to your library!

A fun and whimsical journey through the life of a sea otter! This was a thoroughly enjoyable and easy read. It is a very popular story with the tweens and I can see it being a fun quick read for adults that are interested in wildlife.

This was a wonderful read-aloud for my kids who love animals. I loved the style of the writing, and it was a quick read. It was touching, suspenseful, funny, and very interesting. I highly recommend!!