If You Take Away the Otter
If You Take Away the Otter
Embedded Files
July - August 2026
July - August 2026
This summer, come learn about the importance of balance in an ecosystem and protecting all the things that live in it!
From If You Take Away the Otter. Text copyright © 2020 by Susannah Buhrman-Deever and Illustrations copyright © 2020 by Matthew Trueman. Reproduced with permission from Candlewick Press.
On the pacific coast, sea otters live in forests of kelp that are home to many living creatures! Sea otters help keep this ecosystem balanced by eating sea urchins. When otters are present, the kelp can grow and provide enough food and shelter for all the other animals in the ocean.
When sea otters were hunted by humans and almost disappeared, the sea urchins took over the kelp forests and ate them up, leaving many other sea creatures without a home.
This story shows how everything in nature is connected, and how one animal can have a big impact on the health of an entire ecosystem.
Additional Information & Resources
SUSANNAH BUHRMAN-DEEVER is a biologist with a Ph.D. in animal behaviour. She has written several ecological children's books, including Predator and Prey and Before the Seed, and visits schools to teach children about the environment. Susannah lives in New York with her husband and sons, where she spends time in her garden and hiking through forests. To learn more, visit Susannah's website: https://www.susannahbuhrmandeever.com/
MATTHEW TRUEMAN spent his childhood in Italy and moved to the United States to attend art school. He is the illustrator of Hippos are Huge! and A Picture for Marc. Matthew currently lives in New Jersey.
To learn more about sea otters and kelp forests, visit Susannah Buhrman-Deever's list of educator resources: https://www.susannahbuhrmandeever.com/if-you-take-away-the-otter-educator-resources
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