Marya Khan and the Disastrous Class Project (#5)
Messner, Kate and Bricking, Jennifer (illus.). How to Save An Otter
September 2, 2025 by Bloomsbury Children's Books
E ARC provided by Netgalley
Ivy, her mother, and her younger brother Ezra are biking on trails through a swamp near their Florida home where they find an injured otter pup. Her mother, a science teacher who rescues a lot of animals, and Ivy, who has taken a wildlife rescue class, know that they need to keep the animal warm, and in a dark and quiet place while they get it to the vet. They are well acquainted with Doc, Dr. Martha Tate, and the local wildlife rescue, who gives the otter pain meds and antibiotics to manage the injury and infection. While Ivy is very interested in the cute animal, she knows that too much human contact can be bad for wild animals, so contents herself with watching the otters progress through a one-way window at the clinic. When her school plans Earth Day celebrations, Ivy wants to help give back to the animal hospital. She and her friends work on a plan to educate others about the importance of the facility and the services it provides, and even run a towel drive after checking that the rescue center can use towels. She even works with her pastor, who puts information about the drive in the church bulletin, and has the congregation pray for the otter’s recovery. After a month and a half, the otter has been rehabilitated, and is released back in the area where she was found, along with two other otters. Ms. Messner worked with the von Arx Wildlife Hospital on this book, and two more titles, about an owl (9/25) and a tortoise (3/26),
Strengths: Had my own children read this book, they would have spent hours searching the creek and woods near our house to see if there were any abandoned animals, so it was excellent to see practical, realistic tips on what to do in the case of finding an injured animal. I feel like a lot of middle grade books romanticize this, and always end with the main character taking the animal home and hiding it from parents while trying to take care of it. Ivy is better prepared than her contemporaries to get animals the PROPER help. There are other girls around when the otter is found, and they want to offer it a granola bar, but the comparison is made with a person in an auto accident being offered a cheeseburger. That was an excellent explanation for why this is a bad idea! It’s also good to see that while Ivy is interested in the animal’s progression, and she does get a chance to help feed the otter at one point, she doesn’t interact too much with her. Bricking’s illustrations add a lot of extra appeal. There are good tips at the end of the book about what kids can do to help out local wildlife rescue efforts.
Weaknesses: I would definitely purchase this for an elementary library, but this was a little young for middle school. With budget cuts, I won’t be adding as much to some sections of my library, like books for emerging readers or nonfiction, which have increased over the last couple of years. This book is roughly the same length and has a similar level of text complexity to Messner's Ranger in Time (2015) series.
What I really think: Readers who love animals and who have enjoyed Miles’ Puppy Place books, the Animal Rescue Friends series, Johnson’s Rescue at Lake Wild, or Peter’s Jasmine Green stories will get lots of practical information from this book, and will perhaps be motivated to check with their own local wildlife sanctuary to see how they can help.
April 22, 2025 by Harry N. Abrams
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
Marya is a very exuberant third grader who loves new words, and informs her best friend Hanna one morning that she will have an "exceptional" day! Things don't quite work out that way; there is a new student, Waleed, who has moved to the US from Pakistan, where Marya's family has roots, but he looks scared and shy. Marya wants to make friends with him, but just about anything she says seem to make him downcast. Marya also struggles a bit with fellow student Alexa, who is friendly but brags a lot about the trips that her parents take her on, and rather exasperates Marya, although Hanna doesn't seem to mind her. When her teacher, Mrs. Piccolo, assigns group projects on countries, she pairs Marya with Waleed and has them researching Pakistan. As the two research the country, Marya tries again and again to make overtures and "make" Waleed like her, but fails again and again. She even asks her brothers, parents, and grandmother what she can do to make a friend. Her grandmother suggests that it might be a hard transition for Waleed, and that Marya should be patient, but it isn't until she sees Waleed at a local Pakistani market that she begins to understand how much he has left behind in his old home. Eventually, the two present their project, and Waleed helps Marya out when she gets nervous, cementing their friendship.
School days play a large part in the lives of elementary students, but it's not the same drama as middle school. With older kids, it's all about relationships, romance, and keeping up with trends, be they technological or fashion. With younger ones, it's about interpersonal relationships and navigating the work that needs to be done. Family life also figures largely, since third graders don't spend nearly the amount of time sulking in their rooms that seventh graders do. It's interesting to watch how Marya deals with her siblings, classmates, and the adults in her life, and how she weighs their advice and tries to put it into practice.
This book has a somewhat larger font, is under 150 pages long, and has plentiful illustrations, making this perfect for first and second graders who are becoming interested in longer chapter books and want to read about older kids and get a feel for what their lives will be like in the future. Series books allow students to have some familiarity with the character and not have to process information about new characters while they are trying to deal with the social situations. Many students may never have met a classmate who has moved from another country, so books like this are a good way to help build empathy.
Marya would be right at home with Haywood's Betsy, Sheth's Nina Soni, Butler's Kayla, and Barrows' Ivy and Bean. The books are a nice small size, perfect for taking out into a tree fort or reading under the covers!
September 2, 2025 by Bloomsbury Children's Books
E ARC provided by Netgalley
Ivy, her mother, and her younger brother Ezra are biking on trails through a swamp near their Florida home where they find an injured otter pup. Her mother, a science teacher who rescues a lot of animals, and Ivy, who has taken a wildlife rescue class, know that they need to keep the animal warm, and in a dark and quiet place while they get it to the vet. They are well acquainted with Doc, Dr. Martha Tate, and the local wildlife rescue, who gives the otter pain meds and antibiotics to manage the injury and infection. While Ivy is very interested in the cute animal, she knows that too much human contact can be bad for wild animals, so contents herself with watching the otters progress through a one-way window at the clinic. When her school plans Earth Day celebrations, Ivy wants to help give back to the animal hospital. She and her friends work on a plan to educate others about the importance of the facility and the services it provides, and even run a towel drive after checking that the rescue center can use towels. She even works with her pastor, who puts information about the drive in the church bulletin, and has the congregation pray for the otter’s recovery. After a month and a half, the otter has been rehabilitated, and is released back in the area where she was found, along with two other otters. Ms. Messner worked with the von Arx Wildlife Hospital on this book, and two more titles, about an owl (9/25) and a tortoise (3/26),
Strengths: Had my own children read this book, they would have spent hours searching the creek and woods near our house to see if there were any abandoned animals, so it was excellent to see practical, realistic tips on what to do in the case of finding an injured animal. I feel like a lot of middle grade books romanticize this, and always end with the main character taking the animal home and hiding it from parents while trying to take care of it. Ivy is better prepared than her contemporaries to get animals the PROPER help. There are other girls around when the otter is found, and they want to offer it a granola bar, but the comparison is made with a person in an auto accident being offered a cheeseburger. That was an excellent explanation for why this is a bad idea! It’s also good to see that while Ivy is interested in the animal’s progression, and she does get a chance to help feed the otter at one point, she doesn’t interact too much with her. Bricking’s illustrations add a lot of extra appeal. There are good tips at the end of the book about what kids can do to help out local wildlife rescue efforts.
Weaknesses: I would definitely purchase this for an elementary library, but this was a little young for middle school. With budget cuts, I won’t be adding as much to some sections of my library, like books for emerging readers or nonfiction, which have increased over the last couple of years. This book is roughly the same length and has a similar level of text complexity to Messner's Ranger in Time (2015) series.
What I really think: Readers who love animals and who have enjoyed Miles’ Puppy Place books, the Animal Rescue Friends series, Johnson’s Rescue at Lake Wild, or Peter’s Jasmine Green stories will get lots of practical information from this book, and will perhaps be motivated to check with their own local wildlife sanctuary to see how they can help.
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