Customer Reviews

A Lot of Otters (Picture Puffins)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"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 gathering, intending to read it to our young grandsons. After family members saw the book,they requested a reading for all. It was a pleasure to share this lovely story with the assembled family of all ages. "A Lot of Otters" could easily be translated into many languages, for the text is spare and the appeal universal.

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!

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.

If you like visually beautiful stories, then you'd be hard-pressed to top the work of Barbara Helen Berger. The otters come to life on the pages of this book...frolicking, reading, rolling, and tasting stars.

Besides its stunning visuals, "A Lot of Otters" is also filled with haunting, almost singing prose; one example:

"A lot of otters saw the stars fall. They dove down into the dark, down into the deep."

Mrs. Berger is one of the best at what she does--she is a true myth-making aritist. It is hard to walk away from one of her stories without being somehow enriched. I recommend "A Lot of Otters" most highly.

I brought our son home from China when he was 3 ½. He loved this book from the minute he saw and heard it in nursery school. While I enjoyed the illustrations, I was hesitant about the story. I was reading it as a practical adult. What about the baby? How were he and Mom going to be reconnected? Was the baby really a star? A human?

No, he was a Moonlet. And through my son's eyes I relearned how to enjoy stories again for what's not in the words. The story is what it is, for the moment, for the beauty, the safety, the comfort and the calm. It doesn't have to be anything else. Children love this book to an extent that I still can't fully understand. But then, I don't have to, do I?

Now, almost 7 years after giving my son his own copy of the book, he got it out last night and read it to me while we snuggled in bed. He is 10 ½ now, fifth grade. As he read, he gently told me the story through his eyes. "You see the baby? That's me. And the Mother Moon? That's my birth Mother, and she's crying because she is so sad that she left me on the train to be found. That was very, very hard for her to do, and she's very sad wondering if I'm safe or not. And see the otters that are around me? Those are my new family: Anna, Kate, JianXia (sisters), Dad and you, Mom and my aunts and uncles. Everybody is there keeping me safe. And when my birth Mother sees this she feels happy again, because she knows you'll all take good care of me and that I'm safe."

I am still misty eyed every time I think about my gentle little boy, who thinks of his birth Mother with such obvious love and care and am I'm so grateful this book came into our lives, giving him the opportunity to express some of his deepest concerns and feelings. Thank you Barbara Helen Berger, for this wonderful gift

This is an unusual book.

As near as I can tell, the events that we see happening in the story are the same ones that are supposed to be going on in the book the little boy and otters read. Don't think about it too hard, you'll get a headache.

Instead, focus on the loving mother moon, the fun-filled otters, the clear illustrations.

This book is just the perfect length, incidentally, for those "let's rush through bedtime" nights!

I would give this book five stars for the story, which is an adorable story about a little baby, who's mother is the moon, that gets lost and finds himself floating on the ocean surrounded by otters. It is a very gentle story, and the illustrations are filled with light and magic. The only critisism that I have is that page by page the illustrations are very similar. My two year old daughter doesn't always have the patience to get to the end of the book, although she is mesmerized by the first few pages. The overall review is good though. The story ends with the mother moon finding her child and the image of thier embrace is so cozy and warm. I would give a rating of four and a half and I would be surprised if you and your child didn't love this book.

A modern myth that was surprisingly well-liked by my two-year-old son. The pictures make the story for me. The otters are playful loveable characters. We have read it at least two times every night before bed.

This book is magic. It's the only one our 10-month old daughter will let us read to her before bed. She adores it, touching the illustrations as we turn the pages. It's rhythmic and mythic. I have it memorized by now and whisper the words to her if she is having a hard time going back to sleep.

We also have Berger's All the Way to Lhasa, and our daughter loves that one too. Both are beautifully illustrated.

This book tells a simple story, has beautiful illustrations and they come together wonderfully. Using a folktale, the bedtime story shows children how they can separate safely from their mother and come back together happily. A lovely book with an important message. That is what makes a good children's book. And, a bonus of seeing a fictional child that to my eye, is drawn in a way that could be a boy or girl of many different races. This book has become my top book to purchase as a baby gift.