If You Take Away the Otter, written by Susannah Buhrman-Deever and illustrated by Matthew Trueman. Candlewick Press, Penguin Random House. 2020.$22.99 ages 5 and up

 

"But the king of these forests, the hungriest
hunter, is the sea otter. Otters dive into the 
deep and fill their bellies with fish and clams, 
snails and crabs, abalones and octopuses, and 
the prickly, spiny sea urchins.

A sea otter needs to eat a lot to help it keep 
warm - about a quarter of its own weight each
day. If you ate like an otter, you would need to eat 
about twenty-four hamburgers every day."

Looking at the whiskered swimmers on the book's cover is a reminder of how endearing these ocean animals are. It turns out that cuteness is NOT their many claim to fame. Of course, it is one of the things we love about them. What scientists love about them is that they are a keystone animal on the Pacific coast of North America, where they ensure the good health of the kelp forests that grow there. 

The text is written in two fonts - one offers a story-like and informative look at the creatures themselves and their habitat; the other is much smaller and adds pertinent further information. Readers are told that the kelp forests are home to many creatures. When the forests are healthy, there is balance. It has not always been this way. 

At one time, hunting created an alarming loss. Indigenous people had always hunted for otter and ensured balance within the ocean's ecology. When 'new people' arrived, the explorers developed an international fur trade. In doing so, they took too many otters. As a result of the over-hiunting, the habitat was no longer in balance. Sea urchins flourished; the seaweed and kelp disappeared. Without the otter, there were no checks and balances. 

Eventually, recognizing the dearth of otter life, a treaty was signed to end non-indigenous hunting and selling of otter pelts. 

"And slowly, slowly, the otters began to come back.
 
And the otters, those hungry hunters, attacked and 
ate the urchin armies. With fewer urchins creeping
about, new kelp could once again grow tall, dancing
in the waves."

If you didn't love otters prior to reading this worthy book, seeing Matthew Trueman's captivating views of the ocean and its many creatures will have readers checking out the backmatter to see where they can learn more.