Olive the Little Woolly Bugger

Olive the Little Woolly Bugger
Kirk Werner
Swimming Kangaroo Books
ISBN: 9781934041468
Fiction, Children's Picture Books
Reviewed by John R. Clark

Kirk Werner has found a niche in juvenile literature and filled nicely. Olive is the story of a youngster who happens to be a wet fly on her way to Camp Tightloops. She very much wants to be gorgeous like the dry flies who are at camp, but they only have contempt for her dowdy color and pattern when compared to their colorful designs. As in any good story for kids, there is a moral; persevere and you will succeed.
What the author does, however, goes well beyond telling a simple tale with a moral. He takes the concept of catch and release fly fishing and turns it into a story that children and parents/grandparents will enjoy reading together. The illustrations are beautiful and will engage youngsters in the story. Werner gets his message about the joy of catching fish and releasing them so they can be caught again by others across very well. He also has a page of photographs of real wet and dry flies mentioned in the story at the back of the book, so young readers can see what the main characters look like in real life.
This is an excellent book for libraries in areas where fishing is popular as well as for families who love the outdoors and doing things together.