cover image Bobby Otter and the Blue Boat

Bobby Otter and the Blue Boat

Margaret Burdick. Little Brown and Company, $11.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-316-11616-9

Burdick's first book is a sweet account of a young otter's desire for a blue sailboat. In the barter economy of the Maple Forest, Bobby searches for an item to trade for the boat. Colored fall leaves won't dothey'll dry out and turn brown. Lovely colored stones from the stream dry and turn gray. In the end, it is Bobby's colorful painting of a sunset that proves an object fit to trade. Burdick's highly spirited illustrations provide a lively accompaniment to the text. In richly detailed pictures, a wide assortment of friends bustle about their forest home. Little extras, such as a porcupine who wears a bright blue sweater beneath his quills, contribute to the overall good humor of this first in a series. Ages 4-8. (October)