Friday, May 17, 2024

Oliver the Osprey - Ron Zera

 Oliver the Osprey  - Ron Zera

She read

Oliver the Osprey who frequents the ponds in Deer Valley reaches out to two human boys, Declan and Becket and introduces them to his family, wife Mylea and children Stella and Emmeline.  Oliver and the boys enjoy fishing together. The ospreys help the children learn about nature and in turn they help Oliver provide for his family. They all learn that you can be friends with anyone, no matter who or what they are. 

I  wanted to rate this book higher.  I really did.  It has cute, colorful illustrations and has an important moral.  I love ospreys and have spent a lot of time at Deer Valley.  Perhaps I am being picky, but I couldn’t rate it higher for one reason.  The author refers to ospreys as members of the eagle family and even uses the terms interchangeably.  That isn’t really accurate.  While I guess you could say the two are distant relatives they are not of the same family. And the drawings, although cartoonish, resemble eagles more than ospreys.  While fantasy is fine in a book for children or adults, I just can’t support providing incorrect information.  Interestingly, we have heard a number of people refer to a nesting osprey near Deer Valley as an “eagle”.  Perhaps that is a local misconception?

If you are OK with that discrepancy, then this is a charming family read about friendships “between different worlds”.

Thanks to #Netgalley and #ASPublishing #Buzzbooks for the DRC.


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