Otter Chaos: Dam Busters by Michael Broad (Children's, 7 years +, 10/10E)

 July 2013, Harper Collins Children's, 192 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Themes: family life, using your talents, outwitting an enemy, sibling rivalry, twin humour, entertaining grandparents, river environment, making do when low on food, thinking outside the box, underestimating people's skills,

Content: lots of humour, occasional major peril

Summary from Harper Collins

From the award-winning author of Space Mutts comes the second otterly chaotic title! Part of the Awesome Animals range – the funniest fiction staring the wildest wildlife!

There’s a new family on the river… the beavers. And they’re ruining everything for the Otters. The beavers’ big fat dam has blocked up the river and worse… it’s stopped their supply of delicious crayfish! Something must be done!

It seems like things can’t get any worse for our otters until they discover a mountain lion has also moved in. Can the riverside families overcome their differences to scare off this hungry-looking foe?

Nayuleska's thoughts 

Sadly there was no cute otter hand holding, but I didn't hold this against either family as their different natures had me giggling away. The fighting spirit of the grandfathers' was put to good use, as well as needing to be reigned in by the women in the family. I loved the mischievous twins, and the older sisters who loved preening themselves, a skill which proves essential later on in the book! Otters and beavers alike learn not to dismiss someone's lack of talent, that anything can turn into a great idea, and that a diet solely of riverweed is not fun, unlike this humourous read!

Find out more on the dedicated Awesome Animals website! 

Suggested read

Check out other books in the series such as the hysterical koalas in Koala Calamity: Surf's Up by Jonathan Meres & Neal Layton (Children's, 7 years +, 10E/10E)