Otter and Odder (review)

Otter wasn't looking for love, "he was looking for dinner," but when a limpid-eyed fish arouses unexpected emotion, he realizes something unlikely has happened: "I am in love with my food source." Myrtle (as Otter hears the fish's name of Gurgle) has fallen for Otter as well, but despite their love the two can't make it work: "I am no longer sure a fish can love an otter . . . when the way of the otter is to eat fish." Fortunately, a wise beaver introduces Otter to vegetarianism, and the two "lived happily ever after." This strange and optimistic little fable is kin to Raschka's Arlene Sardine (BCCB 9/98) and Willis' Tadpole's Promise (BCCB 7/05) in its cheerful, humorous weirdness, and the writing is prettily polished. The logic doesn't really bear examination (all the fish Otter ate previously are never mentioned, nor is the fact that fish also eat fish), though, and between the arch tone and the lack of high-impact payoff, it's an airy and insubstantial outing. The watercolor and colored pencil art is highly graphic and gestural, with the figures stylized scribbles (the fish are the traditional skewed figure eights beloved by child artists) that blend in to the busily design-rich riverscapes. While the resultant spreads are beautiful in their interplay of river ripples and riparian vegetation, they're also too abstract for engagement, further reducing the impact of the tale. Audiences may still appreciate the fractured fairy tale nature of the tale, however, and they might be persuaded to create their own humorous stories of surprising romance.