Jason & the Sea Otter - Joe Barber-Starkey

For ages 4-8. In this contemporary tale, Jason discovers the return of the sea otter to his West Coast village. One day, while fishing in his dugout canoe, Jason sees a dark furry head with black eyes and a grey whiskery muzzle bobbing among the weeds. Fascinated, he spends many hours with his canoe tied to the kelp bed, watching the sea otter. One day Jason leans too far over in his canoe and falls into the water. The canoe has come loose from where he tied it and, and a strong current is carrying it away from him. But something prevents the canoe from drifting away. In an entertaining way, the book teaches children the importance of learning about and being in nature, and the respect that nature's wild creatures deserve. Paul Montpellier's full-colour illustrations have been described as "wonderfully clear and detailed, capturing both closeness to nature and a sense of continuity of native tradition.".