Oran the Curious Otter

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

Two new books!

Cover illustration ©Jon Mitchell

February 22nd was publication day for two of my recent Floris picture books! One is a board book version of Skye the Puffling (smaller and simpler than the original) and the other is a brand new story about two adventurous little squirrels.

The wee puffin board book is designed for little hands and is sturdy enough to withstand a bit of chewing! My new squirrel book, Rowan the Red Squirrel, is aimed at older readers (aged 4-6) and follows the adventures of a brother and sister, Rowan and Hazel, who are off to explore the forest for the very first time. Their mother tells them not to wander too far, but there are so many exciting things to discover that her words of warning are soon forgotten.

To be fair, Rowan tries to hold his sister back, but Hazel is fearless and ready for adventure. Most of all, she is hungry, and she nibbles pinecones and toadstools and blackberries all along the way. This proves very useful when they get lost and need to look for clues as they try to find their way home.

There’s a very scary moment when a fox tries to catch Hazel, but Rowan comes to the rescue by grabbing the fox’s tail. They both run off and escape up a tree, but soon it gets dark and more scary creatures appear in the shadows.

When they finally make their way back to their crooked old tree, Mum is very glad to see them! They tell her all about their hair-raising adventures and promise to be more careful from now on.

Little free libraries

Woodland Park Cooperative Preschool in Seattle has a new community library. From http://www.teachertomsblog.blogspot.co.uk

It’s nice to know that in these days of library closures and cutbacks, the desire to share books and celebrate reading is still a powerful force in many communities. I follow the blog of a preschool teacher in Seattle called Teacher Tom, who recently posted about the new community library he has installed (with the help of a parent who built it!)

The idea of providing free access to a small collection of books on a local level has been around for generations, and one particular movement called Little Free Library developed recently in the United States. Its aim is “to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide and to build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.”

The first Little Free Library, from https://littlefreelibrary.org/history/

The first Little Free Library was built in 2009 by Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin. It was designed to look like a one-room schoolhouse, and was created as a memorial to Todd’s mother Esther Bol who was a teacher. He filled it with books and set it on a post in his front garden for anyone in the neighbourhood to enjoy. I think the concept may have sprung in part from the American tradition of the curbside mailbox.

The traditional mailbox found in rural and suburban settings in the USA.

These are similar in concept – a box on a pole at the end of the drive – and can be quite fanciful in design, ranging from red barns and Victorian houses to boldly painted American flags. There is just as much variety in the Little Free Library designs, and many have outdoor seating and shady umbrellas for your reading pleasure.

Todd Bol’s original library spawned a growing movement, and by the summer of 2010 little postbox-style structures made of recycled wood were popping up all over Wisconsin. By the end of 2011 there were four hundred of them across the United States. Today that number has reached 36,000 and is still growing!

Anyone in the US and Canada can order a Little Free Library box online to install in their own neighbourhood. Its location will then be pinpointed on a map on the Little Free Library website. If you live elsewhere in the world, you can still be part of the scheme by registering your own mini-library with Little Free Library. This will put you on the map too!

If you happen to live near Minneapolis, Minnesota, you can catch the first Little Free Library Festival:

The festival will feature live music, poetry, storytelling and of course library-building. That last option appeals to me, as I love all the amazing designs and would quite enjoy giving my library a colourful and distinctive paint job!

One example of a rather unusual mini-library is this TARDIS one from Macon, Georgia:

The TARDIS Little Free Library built by Christopher Marney. From http://www.littlefreelibrary.org

It has room for all sorts of books and access for all heights, from the smallest readers to the tallest ones. Not everyone can have a TARDIS in their neighbourhood (although I do!) Ours is a real Police box that now serves as a tiny coffee shop outside the Botanic Gardens. I wonder if they might consider having a collection of free books on one shelf…

From http://www.littlefreelibrary.org