The Little Otter Who Tried is the second and most recent book from author Katie O’Donoghue. We have been lucky to review her first book, The Little Squirrel Who Worried, and it was perfect for my little anxious daughter. So we were excited to read this new book together and see what we can learn from it and use in our everyday lives (as well as enjoy the story and look at the adorable art).
The Little Otter Who Tried
The Little Otter Who Tried is scared to learn to swim out on her own, even though it is something that otters are born to do; it can still be nerve wracking. The good news is that the Little Otter has plenty of friends at the riverside to help her and give her tips and advice. By listening to them and trying a little more each time, Little Otter’s confidence grows, and before you know it, she is well on her way and can’t believe how far she has been able to travel.
It really is a lovely story, with such stunning art in it too, something I have come to expect from Katie’s books. It also has a lovely learning side to nature, as all of Little Otter’s riverside friends share what it was like when they had to learn to swim or to fly for the first time, such as sucking and kingfisher. It is an important thing to learn that everyone starts somewhere and needs to learn things, even if it is something that they are ‘meant’ or ‘born’ to do.
The key messages in the book are resilience and accepting support. Resilience is one of Chloe’s values at school so something she talks about often, so it was nice to fit that into this too. Although we can all be scared to do something at first, just like Little Otter, but giving it a go and taking steps to achieve the goal, we can succeed. Not only that, but we can have fun and even make friends along the way!
The Little Otter Who Tried is available on Amazon for £12, as well as other places where you buy your books. It is a fab read for little ones, especially children that are facing something challenging and where a message of resilience could help. It is perfect for children over 7, I think (depending on their level of independent reading), but will work well for younger children to have it read to them too.
About the author
Katie O’Donoghue is a child and young people’s therapist with a background in Fine Art and Design, from County Kerry. She has a master’s degree in Art Psychotherapy and is a PhD in Health Psychology. You can see these elements in her books, as well as the really beautiful artwork. Katie writes her books to attend to the challenges that children face, as well as to support the inner child in us all. There is something that we can all learn from her stories.
Have you heard of this book before? It would be great to hear what you think.
*The book was gifted in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions are my own and I would only recommend something that I would pay for myself.
