Milton & Odie and the Bigger-Than-Bigmouth Bass

by Mary Ann Fraser (Author) Mary Ann Fraser (Illustrator)

Milton & Odie and the Bigger-Than-Bigmouth Bass
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
It's ice-fishing season for two very opposite otters. Pessimism, prepare to meet optimism! On one side of a frozen lake, Odie imagines all the fish he'll catch today. On the other side of the lake, Milton is doubtful he'll catch anything at all. As each otter imagines what lurks--or doesn't lurk--under the ice, opposites attract, attitudes change, and a friendship is formed.
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School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-This charmingly illustrated adventure introduces Milton, a pessimistic otter, who crosses paths with Odie, an upbeat one, on a frozen lake. For the most part, Milton and his pessimism are confined to the left-hand page while Odie, the eternal optimist, is on the right. The parallel narrative tells the story of both otters struggling to catch a fish. Milton hates every moment, and Odie sees each mistake and defeat as a sparkling opportunity. The pencil and crayon illustrations are warm and welcoming, despite the cold setting. Milton and Odie are appropriately fuzzy and decked out in warm hats and cozy flannels. The lake is a strange ecosystem, with Milton's side being dark, stormy, and filled with nasty-looking barracuda, and Odie's side is sunny, blue, and filled with happy fish chewing bubble gum. Of course, these illustrations display the otters' contrasting viewpoints on their current situation, and eventually Odie's sunny demeanor triumphs over Milton's negative thoughts after the two team up to catch a fish. Their victory leaves them both identically merry, while unintentionally erasing the only aspect of Milton's personality we've been shown. Seeing the power of positive thinking is a valuable lesson, but the unbalanced narrative suggests that a pessimistic outlook should be entirely squashed out, which is, in itself, a paradoxically pessimistic view of world outlooks. VERDICT Recommended for glass half-full types who don't wish to consider the value of cynicism and a balanced worldview.-Chance Lee Joyner, Wilton Public and Gregg Free Library, NH

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Polar-opposite otters find camaraderie in this read-aloud. Grumpy Milton and exuberant Odie are two adorable anthropomorphic otters on parallel ice-fishing pursuits. Dressed in muted greens and grays, Milton finds negativity in the old boot he fishes out of the frozen lake, criticizes his bait, and is less than enthused about crossing paths with the cheery Odie when Milton's line tugs Odie's fishing pole out of the water. With an exuberant, red-and-yellow plaid coat and bright blue hat and mittens, Odie sees possibilities and positives as readily as Milton can find the downside in anything. From their meeting, they learn about teamwork and experience a sweet role reversal after some success. While the pair of otters represents a type of emotional binary, the gently repetitive events in the story could well start conversations about ranges of emotions. Warmth is established through images of happy fish swimming beneath Odie (those beneath Miles matches glum mien), Odie's genuine smile, and emphasized onomatopoeia. Large, unfussy black type creatively shifts to fill negative space or snowy white landscapes. Combine this with Grumpy Pants (2016) by Claire Messer or Bernice Gets Carried Away (2015) by Hannah E. Harrison for a trio of reads that can offer some giggles while exploring emotions and friendship. Sunnily earnest.
—Kirkus Reviews
Mary Ann Fraser
Mary Ann Fraser is the author/illustrator of over sixty fiction and non-fiction books for children, including No Yeti Yet (Peter Pauper Press), Heebie-Jeebie-Jeebie Jamboree (Boyds Mills Press), the Ogg & Bob books (Two Lions) Ten Mile Day(Henry Holt), and several titles for The Let's Read-and-Find-Out series, including Where Are the Night Animals (HarperCollins). Her books have received a Junior Library Guild Selection, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Book Links Book of the Year, IRA Young Readers Choice Award, and American Booksellers Pick of the List. When she is not writing, illustrating, or giving school presentations, she is painting murals, playing her hammered dulcimer, in her garden talking to her turtles, or reading.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781623540982
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Charlesbridge Publishing
Publication date
October 01, 2019
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039050 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings
JUV002160 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Mammals
JUV009040 - Juvenile Fiction | Concepts | Opposites
Library of Congress categories
Fishing
Picture books
Otters
Cooperativeness
Sharing
Ice fishing

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