The curious, charming, playful, and internet-famous Otter makes her picture book debut in I Am Otter by author-illustrator Sam Garton. Here's what Otter has to say about her book: "Hi! I am Otter, and this is a book about me and my best friends, Otter Keeper and Teddy. And it's about the fun and messy (and little bit scary) adventure we had one day when Otter Keeper was at work. I hope you like the story! (And if you don't, it's probably Teddy's fault.)" Otter's utterly winning voice and Sam Garton's classic yet fresh artwork combine to create a truly hilarious and unforgettable friendship story. K-Gr 3—This fully realized picture book captures warmth, imagination, and playfulness in the character of Otter, who was dropped on Otter Keeper's doorstep when he was a baby. He is exuberant, busy, and a little exhausting. One illustration depicts Otter Keeper, a human male, with his head in his hands, slumped at the kitchen table while Otter croons karaoke for the "Otter and Teddy Show." Even Teddy, a limply stuffed bear, sags on the floor beside his abandoned guitar. When Monday comes, Otter drops the alarm clock into the goldfish bowl and hides Otter Keeper's lunch in his overstuffed stomach to keep him home. And once Otter Keeper is off to work, Otter decides to start a business, a toast restaurant. The illustrations complete the sweetness and the hilarity of the narrative. At the center of the book, a spread depicts opening day at the restaurant: pastel-colored, soft droopy tubes of tomato paste, bottles of hot sauce, jam jars, cherries, whipped cream, and stuffed animals face down in soggy toasts are everywhere in a sticky nightmare. Otter can't quite take responsibility, blaming Teddy when the "customers complained and had to be asked to leave…." The illustration shows an open kitchen window with a zany assortment of stuffed animals being tossed onto the sidewalk. When Teddy goes missing, Otter knows what's really important in this wonderful toast to friendship. Garton creates a contagious appetite for more of Otter and his friends, Teddy, Giraffe, and Otter Keeper.—Teresa Pfeifer, The Springfield Renaissance School, Springfield, MA Otter is an otter. And her wiggly little life used to be swell. There was a blond-haired kid who had a pretty cool teddy bear, and the three of them used to get into all sorts of fun trouble. (Cue illustration of Otter karaoking amid too much clutter.) But the blond-haired kid grew up, and Mondays now mean that she has to go to work. Try as Otter might to delay this reality (by eating the man’s lunch, hiding his alarm clock, etc.), it never works, and so Otter decides to give herself her own job—a stuffed-animal restaurant she will run with Teddy. It’s a disaster, though, serving up nothing but chaos, which Garton captures in a wordless, show-stopping spread of a kitchen in the worst state of affairs you can imagine. To top it all off, when the man comes home, Teddy has gone missing. If you’re keeping count, that’s three mini-plots—a bit much, perhaps—but on a page-to-page basis, this is good-natured fun starring a just plain weird animal protagonist with an oversize imagination. Grades K-2. --Daniel Kraus “A bright and hilarious escapade about an otter who, bored while her owner’s at work, opens a toast restaurant. Hysterical.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “This fully realized picture book captures warmth, imagination, and playfulness in the character of Otter.” - School Library Journal “Good-natured fun.” - Booklist “Garton’s debut picture book does a bang-up job of introducing Otter. There’s a lovely dimensionality and sense of physical comedy in Garton’s digitally created artwork. Combined with Otter’s winning brand of self-importance, it’s plenty to propel her into future adventures.” - Publishers Weekly Hi! I am Otter and this is a book about me and my best friends, Otter Keeper and Teddy. It's all about the fun and messy (and little bit scary) adventure we had one day when Otter Keeper was at work. I hope you like the story! (And if you don't, it's probably Teddy's fault.) Sam Garton began writing and illustrating stories about Otter and her world on the blog I Am Otter: The Unheard Ramblings of a Modern Day Domestic Otter in 2009. He lives in London. He met a real otter once. It bit him. You can visit Otter at www.iamotter.co.uk.