When my daughter was doing online school in fourth grade she was given a copy of The One and Only Ivan as a Christmas gift by her teacher. We read it together and watched the movie starring Bryan Cranston. We loved it so much I gifted her with The One and Only Bob- a brilliant sequel.
Thus began our reading of Katherine Applegate- an author who takes an animal (or plant in Wish Tree) and tells a story from its perspective. It’s a clever technique and creates an impactful story impossible to tell from the human perspective.
I bought The One and Only Ruby and tried reading it out loud to the girls - but they have outgrown this practice and that particular book is a little slower and less engaging than the others. I checked Wish Tree out from the library when I discovered it was assigned sixth grade reading at a local school. I had taken down an art project related to the book and it inspired me to read it- I actually downloaded the audio and listened to it.
Odder was a lucky find - displayed at the library. I read it and will return it with misty eyes after reading the account of an otter introduced to an adopted pup after both are displaced from their natural habitat. It is Monterey Bay attempting to pair up injured adult otters with orphaned pups- definitely worth a read.
