Weekend Pick for April 14, 2023

Weekend Pick for April 14, 2023

​Looking for something to read? 
​Check out our weekly suggestions!
Are your students looking for book recommendations?
Send them to browse through the picks for this or past years.
 
For the picks from 2022 click here
For the picks from 2021 click here
For the picks from 2020 click here.
For older picks click from 2019 click here.
For the even older picks click here.

Katie Russel and Cindi Koudelka (@cmkoudelka) continue this month's Weekend Picks with Katherine Applegate's story Odder. 

Katie Russell

Cindi Koudelka

Katherine Applegate

Katherine Applegate has done it again, taking the story of a real animal and turning it into a heart-warming fictional story. This time it is not a gorilla, but the story of sea otter pups who are raised by surrogates at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. If you are a fan of The One and Only Ivan series, like we are, you will enjoy reading Odder while you wait for the latest installment featuring Ruby to be released in May.  

​​

Odder is the story of a sea otter who was orphaned from her mother during a storm. She is raised by humans at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and is eventually released into the wild. She successfully lives in the wild for three years before she is injured in a selfless act to save her friend. She again finds help from humans to survive her ordeal. The story comes full circle when Odder is given the chance to help other orphaned sea otter pups who have lost their mothers. Will she have the courage to overcome her own fears and help other pups who have suffered the same fate she did? 

​Odder is a fantastic middle grade book, written in free verse, to celebrate National Poetry Month. The short chapters make this book a quick read and an excellent choice to use to fill in downtime during the school day (or, if you are like me, during breaks in mandatory state testing). 
If you are interested in learning more about Katherine Applegate’s books, I highly recommend visiting her website (https://katherineapplegate.com/). 
The teacher’s guide for Odder can be found here
(https://www.mackidsschoolandlibrary.com/teachers-guide-odder/?fbclid=IwAR06HoMf_xKU9gcG0SbsGOGumlW90hotqHT9IeQaLYj9DMflZtFSTKaGcW0)  at MacKids School & Library website. 

In the spirit of literacy and hope, 
Happy Reading!
Cindi and Katie

---