Absolutely charming story about a picture book bear who is happiest when he is being read, but leaves the pages of his book to explore. When his family moves Otto is left behind. Just beautiful, gentle illustrations, and a love song to libraries. ( )

Otto the Book Bear
Katie Cleminson (2011)
I would read this book about a magical book bear to my children and students for many reasons. The book was very easily recognizable with the lesson and messages. This was a book describing the life of a bear that was living in a book and was left behind trying to find a new home. As he searched and searched he was living on the streets in a city that was cold and wet all the time. But one day he was able to find what looked like a warm and welcoming building, that turned out to be a Library! There he was able to find many creatures just like him that were found living on the pages of books. This was a feel good book with not that big of a down fall. This would lead the book to be geared more towards a lower level elementary and even a preschool classroom. Another factor I love about this book so much is that it tells children how great libraries are! Having this in their minds it will encourage students to be looking forward to going to libraries because they see how much fun they can be.

Otto the Book Bear is a great read for children anywhere from kindergarten to second grade. I really enjoyed the illustrations of the story because it used space in such an important way. When Otto finds himself lost and looking for a place to go, the picture of the city surrounding him looks incredibly ginormous! There are many buildings surrounding the numerous amount of huge people. In this scene, Otto looks to be merely a fraction of the size of the gargantuan citizens. On another page, Otto, a bear, walks past a small bird that also looks quite large in stature compared to his microscopic body. When Otto seeks rest, he curls up in a discarded coffee cup which appears to be a medium-sized home for him. When Otto finally finds a more suitable home in the library, he appears to be bigger and he finds fellow book characters to play and explore with. He and the other characters appear to be a similar size and all seem to share a sense of belonging.

I also enjoy that the book allows children to connect it to traditional literature. Although it is a modern fantasy, it starts with the words “Once upon a time.” Once Otto found the library, his new friends that lived there may look familiar to the audience. Some new friends featured in the book consist of Rapunzel, Humpty Dumpty, The Three Blind Mice, Alice from Wonderland, and other traditional literature characters. The story ends with the classic words “And they lived happily ever after.”
The big idea of the book is to always cherish the journey of reading. Otto traveled a long and tiring journey to return to books, and it was very worth it in the end. Once he found the library, new worlds were opened up to him. The same thing can happen to anyone when they read! ( )

Great story for kids who like books...and a bear from within a book who finds a life outside of one. ( )

Poor Otto! His family packs up and leaves him behind! Lonely, Otto leaves his book to find a new home. After an often perilous adventure, he finds himself at a place filled with other book characters and lots of new readers. Otto is suddenly not lonely at all. Great for teaching children that change doesn't always have to be scary, though it can seem that way at times. ( )