Compassion and acts of care drive the story in multiple-award-winning author Kate Messner's How to Save an Otter, the first in her charming new Wildlife Rescue chapter book series.
Ivy and her brother, Ezra, are "volunteer Critter Couriers for the local wildlife hospital." It is their "job" to pick up injured animals and bring them to the Florida wildlife hospital in their mom's minivan, the "Animal Ambulance." When Ivy, Ezra, and Mom (all depicted as white in illustrations) are mountain biking and find an injured river otter kit, they know what to do. But something about dropping this otter off at the hospital feels different to Ivy, "maybe because it seemed so small and alone." As Earth Day celebrations at school offer Ivy a chance to help fundraise for the wildlife hospital, she struggles to balance the many different things she wants to do--bake cookies, make posters, hold a towel drive--while worrying about the otter. Her new friends, family, school, and church community can all help the wildlife hospital, but what will save the otter?
Amusing titles for each short chapter keep the tone light, and Messner (The Trouble with Heroes), inspired by her own volunteer work at a local animal hospital in south Florida, expertly conveys the details of wildlife rescue. Messner gives readers easily digestible nuggets of wisdom, and her narrative naturally teaches children about the realities of animal care. Charming illustrations by Jen Bricking (The Memory Cake) help convey textual details and add tone, allowing for harmony between visual and textual narratives. All animals met in the book heal and are released back into the wild, making the Wildlife Rescue series an otterly inspiring gem for young animal-lovers. --Nicole Brinkley, bookseller and writer