Book Review: Odder (a playful sea otter)(OT)

Odder, by Katherine Applegate (Feiwel and Friends, 2026. $16.99, 288pp HC, ages 8 and up, grades 4-6)* Based loosely on a true story with some history and geography tossed in

I have kept some of the books I review - two that I can recall offhand but Odder is the first one I read twice and definitely will keep, as well as consider it strongly for the Book of the Year for 2026.

A lovely little book by Newbery Medal author Katherine Applegate (The One and Only Ivan)! This reviewer is tempted to name it prematurely for the Children's Book of the Year for 2026** already! Or did I already say that? Nevertheless it bears repeating.

With only three chapters, albeit long ones, Odder will soon become a favorite with your young ones. The first chapter brings us Odder, a three-year-old sea otter who loves aquatic acrobatics and just simply  having fun. As a matter of fact, play can take precedence over eating for her!

Chapter two opens three years earlier when Odder was a young pup. A fairly common construct, skipping back and forth in time might have to be explained to young ones. 

Writing Style with Themes of Freedom and Hope

Author Applegate uses a rare form of writing style, free verse, which often includes a play on words. And her unique way of seeing and describing things will have the reader smile and remember.

Taking place in  Monterey Bay, California, home of that fabulous Monterey Bay Aquarium, Highwater to the otters, whose staff also rescue sea creatures, Odder is all about learning to care, and placing things in appropriate order: play before eating, for some otters, like Odder.

Attacked by a shark (perhaps mistakenly), Odder is rescued and sent to Highwater to rest and heal. There she meets a couple of older otters with names: the star of our book has only a number. The story behind names and numbers is a lesson not soon to be forgotten.***

And even otters in the Aquarium have jobs to do: discovering Odder's new job (which supplements her talent of acrobatic swimming and diving) is another lesson of Applegate's book.

Like Applegate's other books, your family will love and cherish this sweet story.

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*with a bibliography plus, for young readers, print and online resources

**not necessarily published in 2026 but reviewed in 2026

***p. 152 "They only name you, if you're staying for good." "Trust me. It's better to be a number."

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Wise Words

p. 86 "Ondine. . . , clutching her newborn like a pillow with a heartbeat"

p. 139 "How do you groom an otter pup?" "Carefully." (and constantly)

p. 159 "If you listen long enough, you learn things. . . whether you want to or not."

p. 209 "Hope can be exhausting."

p. 264 "Fiction is the lie that tells the truth after all."