Aww... The theme's been done before, but probably never with otters! So cute - hit my buttons! ( )

In my opinion this is a good book and I liked it. The story line made sense and flowed easily. It showed a logical progression of ideas. The illustrations clearly depict what is happening in the story, and they are bright and grabbed my attention. Another reason I liked this book is because the things that are happening in the story can happen in real life, even though the book uses animals the scenarios are something that could happen to people.

The story made sense and flowed easily because of the way it was written. It starts off with the main character making a list of things he can and can’t do, there is only one thing he can’t do and by the end of the story he is able to do that. He practices and it takes him some time and in the middle he has some failures but keeps trying. The illustrations depict what is happening in the story, for example there is a page where the author says, “Otto would simply sit on his favorite slippery rock,” and in the illustration he is sitting on his rock and there is water around it and on it so it looks like it could be slippery. There is nothing else in the illustration so it does not get confusing. The illustrations are bright colors like green, blue, purple, orange, and a light brown against white pages so they stand out. The things that are happening to the animals in the book could happen in real life and it makes the story relatable. For example, there is a part in the book when Otto is watching his friends swim and play because he doesn’t know how.

The overall message of this book is to keep trying and to do things little by little. Take small steps to achieve a larger goal. ( )

For young children who are attempting to learn a new skill, learning ‘little by little’ is a great approach to take. Here we follow Scramble, a young otter, as he learns to swim in spite of his own reluctance and unwelcome criticism from Bear and Beaver. Lovely, warm illustrations accompany a gentle story that will give confidence to toddlers and preschoolers as they take on new challenges.