Four Otters Toboggan: An Animal Counting Book by Vivian Kirkfield+ Book Winner!

This Friday, as promised, I’m sharing Vivian Kirkfield’s stunning picture book, Four Otters Toboggan – An Animal Counting Book, as well as the lucky winner of this book, “hat picked” from those who left a comment on last Friday’s author interview post.

Have you ever been attracted to a book because of its title or cover illustration? Have you ever paged through a book and connected with it so powerfully you hugged it all the way to the store’s cash register? Have you ever been moved by a book so greatly you read it countless times? 

Vivian’s picture book, Four Otters Toboggan – An Animal Counting Book, will have you saying Yes! Yes! Yes!

Welcome to an ecological journey of discovery on which you will be delighted by Vivian’s special word choices – sure to change the way you see and hear the world.

We’ve seen dragonflies hover and zip across a pond, but have we thought of them as ballerinas above a liquid stage? 

In nature films, we have observed otters slide into the water, but when Vivian writes that they toboggan down a slide of mud, this playful scene comes to life. 

Title – Four Otters Toboggan – An Animal Counting Book

Written by – Vivian Kirkfield

Illustrated by – Mirka Hokkanen

Published by- PomegranateKids – 2019

Topics – wildlife preservation, endangered animal awareness, counting, water, weather

Opening –

Water waits.

Dawn breaks

in a chorus of bird song.

ONE willow flycatcher whistles

as the night slips silently away.

Synopsis from Amazon  Water wakes. Wildlife greets the day and finds shelter, safety, and fun on the river in this lyrical, ecologically oriented counting book. One willow flycatcher, two dragonflies, three kit foxes, and more thrive in their habitat. As kids count, the day turns from dawn to dusk, and the character of the water changes as quickly as a child’s moods. Animals sing, leap, tiptoe, toboggan, hoot, hunt, flit, flutter, and hover. They ride out a storm, bask in waning rays, and tuck in under the silver moon.

Filled with modern wood engravings, Four Otters Toboggan celebrates wild beauty, encouraging readers of all ages to preserve and cherish our planet. After the story is finished, children can read more about each species in the back of the book, conservation efforts, what causes animals to become endangered, and what people can do to protect wild habitats.

Why do I like this book? Along with the fun of finding and counting animals on each page, children are introduced to eleven endangered species, the concept of time passage over a day, and the ever-changing mood of both water and a storm. That’s a lot to build into a 32-page picture book! And did I mention the back matter offers additional facts about each animal? The part I love best is that this information is told with lyrical and thoughtfully-chosen words, accompanied by lovingly-created, modern, wood engraving illustrations.

Now for the winner of Vivian’s beautiful book.

Please put your hands together for Jilanne Hoffmann!!!

Learn more about Vivian Kirkfield HERE.

Learn more about Mirka Hokkanen HERE.

Read about and watch the making of the illustrations for Four Otters Toboggan HERE.

From Siera Club – Learn 5 Ways to Protect Endangered Species HERE.

Until next Friday!