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Wildlife Rescue
How to Save an Otter
Ivy and Ezra are “critter couriers” whose family volunteers to transport injured and orphaned animals to their local wildlife hospital.
When they discover a baby river otter with a hurt leg, Ivy worries about the little otter being separated from its family--a feeling she knows all too well. She's struggled to make new friends since her twin cousin BFFs moved away.
Taking on a big project for the wildlife hospital keeps her busy, but can she find the confidence she needs to make it a success, build new friendships, and help the otter heal enough to return to the wild?
When they discover a baby river otter with a hurt leg, Ivy worries about the little otter being separated from its family--a feeling she knows all too well. She's struggled to make new friends since her twin cousin BFFs moved away.
Taking on a big project for the wildlife hospital keeps her busy, but can she find the confidence she needs to make it a success, build new friendships, and help the otter heal enough to return to the wild?
128 pages, Paperback
Published October 21, 2025
6 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Kate Messner
132 books1,658 followersKate Messner is an award-winning author, TED 2012 speaker, and former middle school English teacher. Her books for kids include THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.,SUGAR AND ICE, and EYE OF THE STORM (Walker/Bloomsbury Dec. 2010) the MARTY MCGUIRE series (Scholastic), SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY, and OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle, Books). Kate also wrote SPITFIRE and CHAMPLAIN AND THE SILENT ONE, both Lake Champlain historical novels published by North Country Books.
Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online.
Visit Kate's website: http://www.katemessner.com
Find Kate on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/KateMessner
...or follow her on Twitter - @katemessner
Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online.
Visit Kate's website: http://www.katemessner.com
Find Kate on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/KateMessner
...or follow her on Twitter - @katemessner
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 16, 2025
Excited about this new early middle grade series perfect for readers in grades 1-4! Publishes 9/2/25.
Animal loving Ivy and her brother Ezra are “critter couriers” who (along with their mom) volunteer to transport injured animals to their local wildlife hospital.
One day during a bike ride near the swamp, they discover a baby river otter with an injured leg. They bring it to Dr. Martha Tate at the local wildlife hospital, hoping Doc can help the otter through medication to manage the pain and treat the infected leg.
Ivy knows too much human connection is not good in the rehabilitation of wild animals, so she throws herself into planning for her school’s upcoming Earth Day celebration. Wanting to help support the animal hospital, Ivy and her friends plan a towel drive that reaches the whole community.
More to love:
-the author’s note explains how this book was inspired by the staff, volunteers, and animals of the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
- the back matter includes ways kids can “Be a Wildlife Hero.”
- short chapters and book length (91 pages)
- captivating illustrations by Jennifer Bricking
-the second book in the series “How to Save an Owl” also publishes 9/2, and the third book “How to Save a Tortoise” publishes 3/3/26.
Animal loving Ivy and her brother Ezra are “critter couriers” who (along with their mom) volunteer to transport injured animals to their local wildlife hospital.
One day during a bike ride near the swamp, they discover a baby river otter with an injured leg. They bring it to Dr. Martha Tate at the local wildlife hospital, hoping Doc can help the otter through medication to manage the pain and treat the infected leg.
Ivy knows too much human connection is not good in the rehabilitation of wild animals, so she throws herself into planning for her school’s upcoming Earth Day celebration. Wanting to help support the animal hospital, Ivy and her friends plan a towel drive that reaches the whole community.
More to love:
-the author’s note explains how this book was inspired by the staff, volunteers, and animals of the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
- the back matter includes ways kids can “Be a Wildlife Hero.”
- short chapters and book length (91 pages)
- captivating illustrations by Jennifer Bricking
-the second book in the series “How to Save an Owl” also publishes 9/2, and the third book “How to Save a Tortoise” publishes 3/3/26.
October 26, 2025
Environmental concerns are so relevant a topic in our world today. Two children are with their mom on a nature walk and they come across a young otter who became separated from her family. I love the way the family helps the otter, and she is taken to an animal rescue, then released back into the wild. The message is important when we stumble on small animals in the wild that we cannot make them into pets or raise them on our own. This is a great story told from both the little girls and the little otter's point-of-view.
August 10, 2025
This first title in the series will please animal lovers and budding veterinarians. Ivy and Ezra are biking with their mom when they discover an injured otter. They are Wildlife volunteers and take the otter to a vet for care and rehabilitation. The story is informative including back matter about how to be a wildlife hero.
May 22, 2025
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 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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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 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.
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
books.https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
August 13, 2025
Warm and wonderful story with an otter at the center plus plenty of animal science and conservation tips mixed in smoothly along with excellent black and white sketches of Ivy, her friends/family and plenty of adorable otter!
While out for a bike ride near a swampy, south Florida home for an assortment of wildlife, Ivy, her brother Ezra and Mom find an injured otter and as certified Critter Couriers, transport her to the nearby wildlife rescue hospital. The young otter is treated and completes her rehabilitation along with a wide variety of injured and sick creatures and is eventually released with two other otter back into their native habitat, forming a new family group ready to catch their own food and live as wild animals are meant to do with as little human interference as possible. As Ivy watches the otter’s recovery through a window and not interacting, she and two classmates create a display for Earth Day emphasizing the work of the wildlife hospital and what people can do to protect animals in the wild as well as sponsor a towel drive for the facility.
Kate Messner, writer of both fiction and non-fiction for children and middle grade readers, blends the two genres seamlessly in How to Save an Otter and bases the Critter Couriers and animal hospital on her experiences in Florida doing the same thing as Ivy and her family. Back matter includes facts about the real life Arx Animal Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida as well as a number of simple acts children (and their families) can do to help ensure a safe environment for wildlife. Readers in grades 2-4 will enjoy this story of rescue while learning facts not only about otter but alligators, too. For instance, did you know that gators need a warm place to digest their food and can divert oxygen-carrying blood from their lungs to their stomach to facilitate speedy digestion?! (I love it when children’s books teach me something!)
Highly recommended for children in grades 2-4 with no profanity, violence outside that of nature, or sexual content. Representation: traditional family structure, illustrations indicate Ivy to be Caucasian, one of her friends may be Black and her teacher is darker skinned, naming conventions indicate she has Hispanic cousins.
Note: Two other titles in this series include How to to Save and Owl and How to Save a Tortoise.
Thanks for an eARC, NetGalley and
While out for a bike ride near a swampy, south Florida home for an assortment of wildlife, Ivy, her brother Ezra and Mom find an injured otter and as certified Critter Couriers, transport her to the nearby wildlife rescue hospital. The young otter is treated and completes her rehabilitation along with a wide variety of injured and sick creatures and is eventually released with two other otter back into their native habitat, forming a new family group ready to catch their own food and live as wild animals are meant to do with as little human interference as possible. As Ivy watches the otter’s recovery through a window and not interacting, she and two classmates create a display for Earth Day emphasizing the work of the wildlife hospital and what people can do to protect animals in the wild as well as sponsor a towel drive for the facility.
Kate Messner, writer of both fiction and non-fiction for children and middle grade readers, blends the two genres seamlessly in How to Save an Otter and bases the Critter Couriers and animal hospital on her experiences in Florida doing the same thing as Ivy and her family. Back matter includes facts about the real life Arx Animal Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida as well as a number of simple acts children (and their families) can do to help ensure a safe environment for wildlife. Readers in grades 2-4 will enjoy this story of rescue while learning facts not only about otter but alligators, too. For instance, did you know that gators need a warm place to digest their food and can divert oxygen-carrying blood from their lungs to their stomach to facilitate speedy digestion?! (I love it when children’s books teach me something!)
Highly recommended for children in grades 2-4 with no profanity, violence outside that of nature, or sexual content. Representation: traditional family structure, illustrations indicate Ivy to be Caucasian, one of her friends may be Black and her teacher is darker skinned, naming conventions indicate she has Hispanic cousins.
Note: Two other titles in this series include How to to Save and Owl and How to Save a Tortoise.
Thanks for an eARC, NetGalley and
July 20, 2025
Kate Messner does it again with this new chapter book series. Like her Ranger in Time series, the Wildlife Rescue series is pitch-perfect, giving lots of factual information wrapped in a story with winning characters and a briskly paced plot. Ivy is finding her way at school after her twin cousins move away, and that tension gives the human side of the plot a gentle structure. And the otter adds the cute! Jennifer Bricking's adorable illustrations will support younger readers and listeners - this series will make a great family read aloud for children ready for longer reads than picture books. And for families with a wider age range, these series will pair perfectly with her Over and Under picture book series.
As always, Messner is meticulous in the factual information provided. She keeps it child-centered, with concrete actions that kids and families can take to help wildlife. Fans of Angela Dominguez's Stella Diaz series (also from Macmillan) will love moving from Stella to Ivy.
Thank you to Net Galley for a chance to read this first-in-the-series book. Looking forward to the rest!
As always, Messner is meticulous in the factual information provided. She keeps it child-centered, with concrete actions that kids and families can take to help wildlife. Fans of Angela Dominguez's Stella Diaz series (also from Macmillan) will love moving from Stella to Ivy.
Thank you to Net Galley for a chance to read this first-in-the-series book. Looking forward to the rest!
August 20, 2025
Thank you to Bloomsbury Children’s Books and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
In this Wildlife Rescue series opener, siblings Ivy and Ezra help their mother as “wildlife couriers,” transporting sick and injured Florida wildlife to the animal hospital. While bike riding, they happen upon an orphaned baby otter with an injured leg. With Mom’s help, the otter pup is transported to the hospital for treatment. While the veterinary staff work on the otter’s rehabilitation, Ivy and her friends find a way to help the pup and other injured animals for their Earth Day Fair – a towel drive. Later, Ivy and her family and friends watch as the baby otter is released along with her new family of young abandoned otters.
This is a great early chapter book for readers in grades 1 - 3 who love animals. The book offers practical information and ways to protect and assist wildlife, based on the author’s experience. Will definitely be purchasing for our library!
#HowToSaveAnOtter #NetGalley
In this Wildlife Rescue series opener, siblings Ivy and Ezra help their mother as “wildlife couriers,” transporting sick and injured Florida wildlife to the animal hospital. While bike riding, they happen upon an orphaned baby otter with an injured leg. With Mom’s help, the otter pup is transported to the hospital for treatment. While the veterinary staff work on the otter’s rehabilitation, Ivy and her friends find a way to help the pup and other injured animals for their Earth Day Fair – a towel drive. Later, Ivy and her family and friends watch as the baby otter is released along with her new family of young abandoned otters.
This is a great early chapter book for readers in grades 1 - 3 who love animals. The book offers practical information and ways to protect and assist wildlife, based on the author’s experience. Will definitely be purchasing for our library!
#HowToSaveAnOtter #NetGalley
August 28, 2025
I received an electronic ARC from Bloomsbury USA Children's Books through NetGalley.
Messner pulls readers in to care about a little otter brought to a rescue facility. Readers know how the otter was injured as they got to see life from her POV to begin the book. After this, we see how the humans, especially Ivy, care about this creature's healing. It's easy to draw the parallel between Ivy's loneliness without her cousins and the little otter's fears of being alone and injured. The connection between the otter gaining strength and Ivy taking risks to be with new friends also open dialogue for readers. Looking forward to more in this series.
Messner pulls readers in to care about a little otter brought to a rescue facility. Readers know how the otter was injured as they got to see life from her POV to begin the book. After this, we see how the humans, especially Ivy, care about this creature's healing. It's easy to draw the parallel between Ivy's loneliness without her cousins and the little otter's fears of being alone and injured. The connection between the otter gaining strength and Ivy taking risks to be with new friends also open dialogue for readers. Looking forward to more in this series.
September 19, 2025
What a great new series for kids in Grades 2-4. I know that at that age, my own children would have been captivated by the idea of helping to save injured wildlife. The author includes tips for becoming a Wildlife Rescuer at the back of the book, and I imagine this will be just the impetus many children will need to set them on that path. I love the length (less than 100 pages) and would recommend this book for independent reading, as a read-aloud or as a book club choice. Thanks to the author Kate Messner (love all her books!), Bloomsbry Children's Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion. This book publishes in October 2025.
July 26, 2025
Very sweet story about a young girl finding an injured river otter and navigating friendships after her best friends move away. The way Messner interspersed the otter's recovery journey and Ivy's growing friendships makes the book read very quickly. I read it all in one sitting and didnt even notice time passing!
Spoiler about the animal for those NEED to know
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.
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The otter survives.
Spoiler about the animal for those NEED to know
.
.
.
The otter survives.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2025
4.5 stars
A family involved in a volunteer wildlife rescue group discover an abandoned and injured river otter and take it to a rescue and rehab center. They monitor the otter's recovery as they work on celebrating earth day by spreading awareness for how best to handle abandoned wildlife.
A family involved in a volunteer wildlife rescue group discover an abandoned and injured river otter and take it to a rescue and rehab center. They monitor the otter's recovery as they work on celebrating earth day by spreading awareness for how best to handle abandoned wildlife.
August 10, 2025
This. Book. Is. So. Cute!
Love the Author's Note and "Be a Wildlife Hero" sections following the book, and the story itself is 91 readable pages INCLUDING darling illustrations! Our kids will eat this one up - and the informational learning that can coincide with it will be INCREDIBLE! =)
Love the Author's Note and "Be a Wildlife Hero" sections following the book, and the story itself is 91 readable pages INCLUDING darling illustrations! Our kids will eat this one up - and the informational learning that can coincide with it will be INCREDIBLE! =)
November 19, 2025
The illustrations are adorable in this book that will be a hit with kids who like animals and are interested in animal conservation.
December 12, 2025
Cute new chapter book series for early elementary. Basic plot line about a family who volunteer as critter couriers for a local wildlife rescue. Will appeal to animal lovers, adorable illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews