Odder: A Guest Post by Katherine Applegate

This sweet story about an otter named—you guessed it, Odder – is the perfect read for the young animal lover or aspiring marine biologist in your life. Read on for an exclusive essay from Our Monthly Pick author Katherine Applegate on writing Odder.

Okay, folks: I challenge you to find a more adorable cover than the one created for my novel, Odder, by the inimitable Charles Santoso. That sweet sea otter cavorting in the ocean just plain makes you want to break into a smile.

Southern sea otters have been called the “champions of cute,” and I fully confess that it was their endearing nature—the doe eyes, the charming whiskers, the aquatic acrobatics—that started me on my journey to learn more about the species. (Especially when they’re babies, otters give a whole new meaning to “adorable.” The little fuzzballs are initially so buoyant that when baby otters fall off their moms, they can float away like a beach ball.)

When I began my research for this novel, I had a pretty straightforward action plot in mind. But the more I learned about a remarkable program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA), the more I wanted to share that story with young readers.

Southern sea otters, a keystone species, are threatened by disease, climate change, oil spills, and even shark attacks. Faced with caring for more and more stranded and orphaned sea otter pups, MBA developed an amazing program to help return those pups to the wild using surrogate mothers. (The moms are resident otters who’ve been declared “non-releasable” due to injury, or because they’ve become too acclimated to humans.) The program has been so successful that it’s being replicated worldwide.

No matter how much research an author does, writing about other species requires a great leap of faith. Do I know what it’s like to race fellow otters through marshy shallows, pirouetting, dipping, and diving in a watery ballet? Of course not. But I can try my best to capture what it might be like, and to share that with my young readers. That’s what I love about writing for this audience. They are ready to deep-dive with you into uncharted waters, imaginations primed for just about anything.

I’ve been lucky enough to see Odder used in many One Book, One School reads, and it always does my heart good to hear how much the kids adore Odder’s story, and how knowledgeable students are about the environment. They love reading about Odder because they can relate to her: to her exuberance, her curiosity, her generous spirit—and her vulnerability. Learning about this magnificent creature makes readers want to protect her, and to cherish our fragile planet.

It’s been a joy and an honor to share the story of Odder—the queen of play—with so many readers. (And by the way, if you ever get the chance to see otters at an aquarium—or better yet, in the ocean—you will come away forever changed. And smiling.)