The first weeks of school are a wonderful time to share stories together with your children that will act as springboards to both their imagination as well as to discussion, most especially if your little ones are feeling nervous about the start of the school year. This sense of reluctance carries over to a little teddy bear found in the second of our " Tales to Welcome Your Little Ones Back to School" spotlight -- Otter Goes to School.
As our tale begins, inquisitive little Otter asks her Otter Keeper how he became so smart. He tells Otter that he went to a "super-fun place called school" and Otter was immediately in awe and inspired. So, Otter quickly sets about creating his own "school" where he gathers all of his friends Bear, Pig, Worm, Giraffe, Robot and Teddy together so they can learn all of those things that has made Otter Keeper so smart- the friends, now schoolmates, learn songs, math, have story time and music sing alongs. They all seem to be enjoying school with Otter as their teacher, and Otter rewards them with gold stars. All except Bear. After coming back to class from lunch, Otter sees his friend Bear looking sad. Teddy explains that he is not liking school very much, as all the other friends seem to be good at everything that he's not. Otter is left not knowing what to do to change Teddy's mind. So he turns to Otter Keeper for help. He explains to "Teacher Otter" that everyone is good at something, and that you just have to take the time to show them the way to what it may be.
I have long been a fan of the "Otter" series of books by author/illustrator Sam Garton, and this adorable tale did not disappoint. Filled with whimsical illustrations on every page, your little ones with big imaginations will be able to relate to little Otter's delight in "playing school". The message from this tale is both poignant and timeless-everyone is good at something, and the journey to find out exactly what that is can be amazing.
Otter Goes to School
Written & illustrated by Sam Garton
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) 2016
Retails for $17.99 (Hardcover)
***A Modest Mommas Musings for Little Readers Note: For further fun with "Otter" and friends, please visit his website at https://www.iamotter.co.uk/ ***
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