A Lot of Otters (Picture Puffins)

Mother Moon is looking for her child. As she calls for him, her tears turn into stars that fall into the sea and are rescued, along with her little one, by a lot of otters. These playful animals cavort and rollick in the starlight until Mother Moon looks down and sees them--and her child, safe and sound. Barbara Helen Berger's poetic words and luminous illustrations are beautifully fused in this dreamlike tale that is just perfect for bedtime. "Toddlers are sure to delight in the mischievous antics of all those whiskery otters." --School Library Journal, starred review

Customer Reviews:

This lovely new myth delights children and adults.

By A Customer - November 15, 1999

"A Lot of Otters" is a lovely new myth, made realistic through paintings which exhibit both virtuosic skill and artistic vision. In the central painting, "down into the deep," the otters almost swim on the page. Even more compelling than the otters is the huggable toddler who goes to sea in a cardboard box, drops his beloved book overboard, then watches as the otters enjoy it. While his mother, the moon, weeps and frantically calls her baby, he is calmiy observing this new world of otter antics. Skillfully and subtlely, the author/artist reveals the toddler's feelings through his facial expressions and body language. His face and posture communicate interest, then surprise, dismay, concern, awe, and finally, delight. His emotions are illustrated, but never exaggerated. Throughout this drama of separation, the gentle colors and soft textures assure us that we are reading toward a happy ending. I took "A Lot of Otters" to a recent family... read more

Calm, tranquil, transformative

By Catherine S. Vodrey - August 8, 2002

Barbara Helen Berger's "A Lot Of Otters" is lovely. We begin seeing, on an open ocean, a little boy in soft red pajamas, floating about in a box! He's has something, which he drops, and soon otters begin to swim around and gather up what he's dropped and what the Moon herself is dropping as well (I can't give away more detail or it will take away some of the fun of the book for you).The illustrations are soft, sumptuous, and absolutely glowing--Berger has somehow managed to make each page look almost as though it's lit from behind. The toddler is rendered realistically, and the otters are shown sleek and lithe as they would be in real life--but everything has a moonglow cast to it, and that makes this book's pictures utterly and completely enchanting. A wonderful bedtime story, especially on a moonlit night!

A dreamy bedtime story

By Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" - November 8, 2001

It's bedtime & Mother Moon calls for her child. Below, a little boy in his pjs with a book under his arms, finds a box to snuggle into & dream of floating on the sea with a lot of otters.A much-loved book in our rural library, with pictures every mother & child can relate to, this tender & lyrical read takes you out into the otters' world of water & charm & comedy.A lovely, whimsical book, a soothing, joyous bedtime story.