My latest Picture Kelpies book came out earlier this year, and I’m delighted with the expert illustrations of Abigail Hookham, a graduate of Goldsmiths, University of London. Oran the otter spends a lot of time underwater, and Abigail is brilliant at capturing the light coming through water from above, as well as dark, stormy seas when things get scary.

Oran the Curious Otter is a rhyming story about a young river otter who goes for his first trip to the open sea with his mum and his sister Orla. They live on the isle of Mull, and arrive in a wide and beautiful bay – Calgary Bay. Naturally, to do proper research for the book, I had to spend some time on Mull, taking photographs of a tree overhanging the bank of a stream, the journey downstream to the shore, and the wide expanse of the bay.

The perfect spot for a holt where otters can live.
The stream flows along the edge of the beach down to the sea.
Calgary Bay with its white sand in the late afternoon sun.

Abigail has captured all these features in her illustrations, starting with the otters’ holt by the stream:

Oran and Orla are just waking up. They are old enough now to visit the sea…
Mum leads them downstream to the bay which looks enormous!
Oran meets a friendly seal called Camille who shows him around and teaches him a thing or two.
When Oran finds a lobster trap, Camille warns him not to climb inside.
Camille also warns Oran not to eat the plastic floating in the sea.

Abigail first shows the sun filtering through the water in a bright and happy moment when Oran meets Camille. Then, when there is danger, Abigail uses darker colours to convey a more worrying atmosphere. The most distressing moment comes when Camille is caught in a fishing net and Oran has to rush to her rescue. Abigail makes the sea grey and stormy to give us a sense of danger and uncertainty.

Two guillemots warn Oran that Camille is in trouble. The sky has turned dark and rain is falling.
The sea is dark and murky as Oran struggles to free Camille from the net.
As the sun goes down, Oran, Orla and Mum head back upstream to their holt.

Camille is rescued, and Oran rejoins his mum and sister at the end of a long and busy day. The storm has passed and the clouds are turning pink and gold as the sun sets. With this illustration, Abigail creates a sense of calm using warm, mellow colours. The final image shows Mum and the two pups curled up in their holt, safe and sound.

Like all my Picture Kelpie stories, this one has a happy ending! Oran has a new friend, and he has learned a lot about sea creatures and underwater dangers. I hope Abigail’s amazing illustrations will inspire readers to visit the isle of Mull for a bit of otter spotting!

Calgary Bay, Isle of Mull