Book Review: The Otter, the Spotted Frog and The Great Flood; A Creek Indian Tale by Gerald Hausman

The Otter, the Spotted Frog and The Great Flood written by Gerald Hausman and illustrated by Ramon Shiloh is a story based a traditional story from the Creek Indians from norther Florida and Georgia. When Spotted Frog tells everyone about a great flood that is about to destroy their homes,the animals ignore his warnings, except Listener the Otter. The Listener is laughed at for heeding Spotted Frog’s predictions but begins to build a raft to try and survive the impending disaster. But will his efforts be enough?

The Otter, the Spotted Frog and The Great Flood is a book that speaks to the importance of nature and the environment. It also supports the idea of believing in yourself and doing what you think is right rather than what the crowd thinks you should do. Spotted Frog knows that the great flood is coming, and Otter is a listener, and fully believes that he is right. He sees the signs in the world around him and does what he can to survive despite the mocking he faces. I liked that in the end the Otter really does get a happy ever after rather than losing what is precious to him. This tale echos other stories from around the world, and gives readers of all ages that might see similarities from their own flood stories the realization that we are all much more alike than different.

I would recommend The Otter, the Spotted Frog and The Great Flood for classroom and public library collections. The story could be used in lessons about nature, the environment, Native American legends, and the universal nature of some aspects of mythology. It will also be a great read for animal lovers and those that enjoy splendid illustrations.

Series thoughts

There are many series that fans lose heart in as the books seem to go on and on while the actual plot seems to fade away. In some cases fans simply keep reading, because they are invested and just want to know what will eventually happen to the characters. Sometimes fans just keep reading out of habit, or out of the same morbid curiosity that has people staring at train wrecks or car accidents. Whatever the reason, it is that continued reading audience that often keeps the series going. I admit to being someone that has trouble stopping a series, I always hold onto the hope that the next one will be better, or be as good as the first few that got me invested in the characters.

Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series is one that many fans defected from or are reading still because of one of those reasons above, because about half way through the series the plot seemed to get lost amid sex scenes... lots and lots of sex with very little story movement. However, in this case I am glad I stuck with it. In last year's release Bullet, there were the hints that the action was going to pick up and the story was again in serious motion. I reviewed it and told all the fans that bothered to read my review not to lose hope, and I hope some did read it. In this year's release, Hit List, there were serious strides in storyline. For fans that stopped reading because of the over abundant sex, I can promise that is installation does not bury the story in sex. There is only one actual sex scene, and a few smatterings of thoughts and light touching. After some of the other books in the series this is huge, since in some books there seemed to be all sex and one or two moments of plot action. I was thrilled and devoured Hit List in a day. Hamilton is back to writing the fantastic character dynamics, insanely intense story and left me eager for the next book. If you are a fan that has skipped some books, I do suggest getting the basic summaries or skimming through the books you missed and start reading again with Bullet since Hit List does deal with a larger story arch that has been building (albeit slowly). It is time to enjoy the adventures of Anita Blake again.