I am Oliver the Otter: A Tale from our Wild and Wonderful Riverbanks

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A heart-warming, rhyming story about a little otter called Oliver, written and read by bestselling poet Pam Ayres, author of The Last Hedgehog. Whilst telling us a cute story, this gives us scientific facts (and proper names) about the otter and what they need from us to survive in this world, conserving the cleanliness of our waterways is a must. The children will be learning without even knowing.

This is a really lovely picture book, with beautiful illustrations and facts woven into the rhyming lines. It would be an ideal gift for any small child (or grown up otter lovers!) Pam Norfolk, Lancashire Post As well as featuring stunning pictures by illustrator Nicola O'Byrne, the book issues an important plea to children to help look after waterways and free them from pollution. It is sure to delight children aged two to 10. Almost a century after Henry Williamson’s classic story Tarka the Otter was published there’s a new glossy-furred mammal in the river, courtesy of the poet, comedian and songwriter Pam Ayres. It is not the first time she has highlighted her love of animals and her concern about impending environmental disaster: her 2018 adult picture book, The Last Hedgehog, brought to life the plight of our spiky friends.

I am Oliver the Otter: A Tale from our Wild and Wonderful Riverbanks

Pam appears regularly on TV, most recently on BBC’s Springwatch, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, Celebrity Mastermind, and a programme about her time in the WRAF in the recent BBC Women at War series. On radio Pam appears regularly on BBC Radio 4’s Just A Minute, and 2018 will see her recording the sixth series of her own Ayres on the Air for Radio 4.

Oliver is an otter who lives in the riverbank. Like most otters, he is a solitary creature until he meets a lady otter called Ottilie, and the rest, as they say, is history! It’s important to be yourself in life. Don’t think you have to adapt according to the people or situation you’re in. It’s perfectly all right to be exactly who you are, to like what you like. That’s a lesson it took me a long time to learn. Ok, I'm old enough to know that Pam Ayres writes poetry and she recites those poems with gusto! I found it almost imossible not to read this with her voice in my thoughts! I also know that she is a passionate campaigner for our countryside and it's animals. This was read on ecopy via NetGalley. Children's, Teenage & educational / Social issues: environment & green issues (Children's / Teenage) About the Author:Pam Ayres was born in Oxfordshire, and has been a writer, broadcaster, and entertainer for over forty years. She is the author of several best-selling poetry collections, including The Works, With These Hands, Surgically Enhanced and You Made Me Late Again! Many of her poems are in school textbooks around the world including the UK, USA, China, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, South Africa, Ireland and Singapore. Pam’s autobiography, The Necessary Aptitude, was the UK’s bestselling female autobiography of 2011.

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The book was not only signed but came with a lovely poster which contained Nicola’s beautiful illustrations and some of the other facts!! Oliver is an otter who lives along a mossy riverbank. Whether he’s using his special webbed feet to swim underwater, scuttling along the bank or meeting other animals, he mostly gets by alone. But one day, Oliver meets another otter called Ottilie and his future looks much less solitary… I’ve been married to my husband for 40 years. The secret to a happy marriage? A good sense of humour.