A fun look at history
<p>Idaho’s first lady, Lori Otter has a new creative outlet, a series of children’s books telling the story of Idaho’s history and natural resources through the eye’s of a young explorer named Ida Jones and her dog, Tank. All profits from book sales will go to the Idaho Community foundation.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - With the help of a fictional female aviator named Ida, Idaho first lady Lori Otter is making learning about history fun.
During her husband's first year in office, Otter said she was "mortified" when she discovered the stacks of copied paper given to fourth-grade students visiting the state Capitol. In an effort to provide children with a good resource, Otter teamed up with Boise State University, and Ida was born.
Using her background as a teacher and Idaho's fourth-grade history curriculum, Otter developed Ida's first adventure - an illustrated book called "Ida Tours the Capitol."
Eight years and four books later, Otter said Ida has taken on a life of her own.
"History is fun when history is made fun," Otter said. "So the more you can make it fun for them, the more they will engage."
Originally Ida was going to be a take on Indiana Jones called Idaho Jones. However, Otter thought the main character should be a girl.
"We did some research and we found out that Idaho has a history of women aviators," Otter said. "We modeled Ida after one of those famous aviators who flew from Salt Lake City to Seattle and always stopped in Boise."
Recently Otter completed two new books. The first, "Ida Visits 150 Years of Idaho," was created through a partnership with the Idaho Historical Society as part of the state's sesquicentennial celebration.
"It goes over Idaho history and all of the things about Idaho that have made it fun," Otter said. "There's a whole lot of information in that book and it's all aligned with the curriculum. It will be a great resource for teachers in classrooms."
The other book, "Ida Hikes Idaho," was written in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. In the book, Ida travels through all of the state parks and teaches children about the activities and history of each location.
"I'm hoping it's something that will get kids outside and doing some road trips," Otter said. "I can see parents looking at the book and saying 'let's knock these out in two or three years.'"
This morning, Otter spoke about leadership at the Coeur d'Alene Girl Scouts Community Leadership Breakfast at The Coeur d'Alene Resort. She told The Press Wednesday that she will be speaking about how everyone has the potential to be a leader.
"The hard part (about leadership) is learning what style of leadership you have and crafting that so you become a more effective leader," Otter said. "That's what leadership is all about - effectively creating an environment that enables others to be successful."
As for Ida, Otter said her adventures will continue long after her tenure as first lady is over.
"I've got so many ideas," Otter said. "I think the next one is going to be about Ida visiting famous Idahoans."