Oggie the Otter

Last year I was a part of a preschool co-op with several wonderful women who also have sons about the same age as my 4th son. We met at each other’s houses each Wednesday and the mother who hosted taught a little lesson, read a book, led a craft, and shared a snack. We chose to focus each week on one letter of the alphabet. Though we didn’t make it a rule, we moms usually tried to find a theme that began with the letter we were teaching that week. One week, I was thinking about this preschool theme and brainstorming ideas for picture books. I thought about how difficult it sometimes was to find a good picture book to share with our preschool co-op that was based on one letter. I wrote out a few ideas using different letters, but my letter “O” idea was my favorite. I kept writing.

Ollie to Oggie

When I first wrote this story, my book was Ollie the Otter. But then I started getting emails from Otterbox all about their new “mascot” Ollie and his different adventures with Peyton Manning and I knew I needed a more original name. It took me about a month to stop typing and saying “Ollie,” but now Oggie is Oggie and there is no looking back. Fortunately, my talented illustrator really made Oggie come to life and I think little Oggie looks like an Oggie, don’t you?

Everyone Can Relate

So Oggie the otter will only eat orange things. His mother tries to get him to eat foods that kids typically love: pie, birthday cake, potatoes in any form (chips, French fries, etc.), but to no avail. She feels frustrated because she doesn’t understand why on earth he won’t even try these foods. Oggie feels frustrated because he feels like his mom isn’t listening to him and he keeps responding the same way over and over again, hoping she will listen (Somebody PLEASE tell me I’m not the only parent who goes through scenarios like this with her children…). When she finally listens and comes up with a solution, both Oggie and his mother get what they want. I love these win-win situations in parenting!

An Outtake

My original story was a few pages longer. I had an additional piece to the story that I held on to a little longer than I should have. In this piece of the story, Oggie’s mother runs to the cupboard and gets food coloring and adds it to some milk. This is how she realizes that Oggie isn’t refusing foods because of how they taste, but simply because of the color. I later realized that this part was not crucial to the story, so I cut it out. But since I love watching outtakes at the end of movies, I thought it might be fun to share my little Oggie outtake here (Please keep in mind that this was in an early draft before I went back and fixed my syllable count and my meter. I am just sharing this for fun—no critiques, please!)

“Oggie, oh, Oggie, milk’s creamy and cool.
Drinking some now will give you more fuel.
You’ll want to drink more if you swallow some now;
Drink it, dear son, and your mouth will say, ‘Wow!’”

But Oggie the Otter he just shook his head.
“I do not want milk. I’ll take orange juice instead.
Orange juice is a drink that is fit for kings.
‘Cause all that I want is to drink orange things.”

Then Mother she ran (whether good or bad mothering),
She dashed to the kitchen and got some food coloring.
She put three drops into the cup filled with milk,
And then she inquired in a voice soft as silk:

“Oggie, oh, Oggie, will you try orange milk now?
Perhaps the whole drink will be better somehow.”
“I’ll try orange milk,” Oggie said, happy-faced,
“I like it! I do! I do like the taste!

I like orange milk! What joy that milk brings!
Since all that I want is to drink orange things.”

I could totally imagine Mother running frantically to the kitchen cupboard to test her theory with the orange food coloring! Right after I cut this section from my story, I received a critique from a member of the critique group in which I participate and she suggested I cut this section. It was such a confirmation to me that I had done the right thing!

I also had one fabulous illustration that I ended up not using because I changed the layout of the pages. It’s too cute–I have to share it!

Oggie the Otter

My Hope

I am so excited to share Oggie with you! I hope you and the children in your life will enjoy him. It is my wish that this can open up a dialogue between parents and children whether it’s about food or about another issue. I have come to recognize that so often my children are refusing to do something or demanding to do something and their reasons are completely different than what I’ve assumed. When I actually listen and try to understand what my child is trying to tell me, I am able to find a better solution. I hope Oggie will bring more joy into your life!

For example, one of my picky eaters is very particular about textures. He loves cheese, but hates it when cheese melts on his food. If I put the cheese over to the side, he will gladly gobble the cheese with the food as long as it isn’t melted. Another example (not food-related) is when my twins were little, they refused to go potty when we were out (like at a grocery store or the zoo). I was getting frustrated because I was constantly bringing changes of clothes and carrying a little potty seat in the back of our car until I realized they were just afraid of the loud sounds of the toilets flushing and the hand-dryers. Once I realized what they were afraid of, I took them to places with family restrooms and showed them where the loud sounds came from. Soon they would look up at me in a restroom stall and say, “It’s OK, Mom, it’s just water.” I smiled every time.
Have you ever had a situation like this? I’d love to hear about yours in the comments below!

Oggie the Otter is now available for pre-order here on my website! I have only ordered a conservative number for my first shipment, but you will be able to order it straight from Barnes & Noble and Amazon by December 4. I would love to hear how you like it once you get it!

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