Adding to a growing list of picture books that consider the impact of apex predator extinction, such as Lily Williams' If Elephants Disappeared (2019), comes this informational book with a focus on sea otters. First the author sets the scene: ocean forests of kelp along the Pacific shore provide nourishment, protection, and homes to fish, sea urchins, and a plethora of other marine animals. The "king" of these interconnected lives, however, is the sea otter. But what would happen, as the title suggests, if the otter were taken away? Buhrman-Deever explains how, starting in the 1700s, Russian explorers in Alaska nearly drove the otter to extinction through hunting for the international fur trade. Her vivid descriptions relate the devastating consequences on the ocean forest until a 1911 treaty protected the remaining otters. While larger text tells the story and smaller text adds important details, blue- and green-hued illustrations resembling watercolors highlight the habitat's richness. A concluding note addresses the fur trade's negative impact on the area's indigenous people. An insightful cautionary tale for young readers.

In the blue-green depths of a Pacific Ocean kelp forest, a vast array of plants and animals live in harmonious balance. Seaweed, snails, shrimp, fish, eagles, and the "kings of these forests"--sea otters--make up this ecosystem's food web. Facts about each species wind through the illustrations, which portray adorable (somewhat anthropomorphized) otters in a peaceful ocean environment. But, as Buhrman-Deever warns, this wasn't always the case. In the early twentieth century, fur traders devastated the sea otter population, which led to an overgrowth of sea urchins, who ate the kelp and destroyed the forests. This disequilibrium is portrayed dramatically in Trueman's gauzy underwater illustrations. Over a few page-turns, the forest is taken over by spiky purple urchins that raze the kelp and drive away the animals that depended on it for food and shelter. When laws are passed to protect the otters, balance is restored. In today's kelp forests, "there is just enough seaweed, enough seaweed eaters, and enough meat eaters to help the forests thrive." Back matter provides additional details about the effect of unchecked hunting in the region as well as an update of current sea otter numbers in the wild; a selected bibliography is also appended.

Sea otters are the key to healthy kelp forests on the Pacific coast of North America.There have been several recent titles for older readers about the critical role sea otters play in the coastal Pacific ecosystem. This grand, green version presents it to even younger readers and listeners, using a two-level text and vivid illustrations. Biologist Buhrman-Deever opens as if she were telling a fairy tale: "On the Pacific coast of North America, where the ocean meets the shore, there are forests that have no trees." The treelike forms are kelp, home to numerous creatures. Two spreads show this lush underwater jungle before its king, the sea otter, is introduced. A delicate balance allows this system to flourish, but there was a time that hunting upset this balance. The writer is careful to blame not the Indigenous peoples who had always hunted the area, but "new people." In smaller print she explains that Russian explorations spurred the development of an international fur trade. Trueman paints the scene, concentrating on an otter family threatened by formidable harpoons from an abstractly rendered person in a small boat, with a sailing ship in the distance. "People do not always understand at first the changes they cause when they take too much." Sea urchins take over; a page turn reveals a barren landscape. Happily, the story ends well when hunting stops and the otters return…and with them, the kelp forests.A simple but effective look at a keystone species. (further information, select bibliography, additional resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Gr 2-4 The conditions needed to maintain the health of a kelp forest's ecosystem involve interdependent factors. Buhrman-Deever explains the science behind what happened to kelp forests when hunters brought the otter to near extinction in the early 1900s. Why were otters desirable? Their fur, which has "around one million hairs in a space the size of a quarter," is extremely warm. However, the international fur trade was not beneficial to everyone. As a result of the industry boom and an influx of explorers, Indigenous people experienced violence and disease. The otter population was drastically reduced. Otters helped keep an ecological balance by preventing their prey, the urchin, from overwhelming the kelp forests. The decreasing otter population allowed the abundance of urchins to decimate the kelp forest. In 1911, the United States, Russia, Japan, and Great Britain signed the International Fur Seal Treaty, which "stopped non-Indigenous sea otter hunting and selling of otter furs." In time, the otters returned. The luminous illustrations and clear text help young readers understand the causes and effects of the otter fur trade. The book's large type will appeal to younger readers. Facts printed in small type are suited for experienced readers. Back matter consists of a summary of the book's content, a selected bibliography, further reading, and websites. VERDICT A solid purchase for all public and elementary school libraries. Nancy Call, formerly at Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA