Book Sunday: Ottoline and the Yellow Cat
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat
Chris Riddell
Published by Macmillan Children’s Books
Hard cover, 171 pages
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat came before Ottoline Goes To School. You can see that she’s a bit younger in this book, but it doesn’t take away the fun of the series.
Ottoline lives in the Pepperpot Building (called so because it looks like a pepperpot) with Mr. Munroe, whom her parents found in a bog in Norway. Our intrepid young protagonist specialises in solving tricky problems and working out clever plans. She has a notebook specially for jotting down what she sees and working out those clever plans.
The mystery begins when Mr Monroe noticed posters of missing dogs and showed them to Ottoline. Soon, Ottoline noticed some interesting and possibly related activity in the crime pages.
One of the things I noticed about Ottoline is that she does manage to be a slightly annoying little snot the way young children are when then learn the proper codes of conduct but doesn’t know the appropriate time to sling it out. Nonetheless, she is still sincere and endearing.
Riddell’s line art is full of visual pun and references that adults are more likely to get. For example, does this scene look familiar?
And finally, another piece of evidence that Riddell might have been here:
Book Sunday: Ottoline Goes To School
Ottoline goes to School
Chris Riddell
Published by Macmillan Children’s Books
Hard cover, 170 pagesOttoline Brown is the eccentric daughter of Professor and Professor Brown. Her parents are away a lot because they are Collectors and roam the globe for things to collect. Ottoline’s best friend and constant companion is Mr. Munroe, whom her parents found in a bog in Norway.
When out on a walk, Ottoline and Mr. Munroe meets Cecily Forbes-Lawrence III and her Patagonian pony, Mumbles. The arrogant Cecily quickly dominates Ottoline’s time and attention, enthralling her with all kinds of fantastic stories.
Ottoline likes Cecily and is oblivious to her snooty side. When Cecily announces that it’s time for her to return to school, Ottoline decides to enroll as well. Together with a group of equally offbeat children and their pets, they commence lessons at Alice B. Smith School for the Differently Gifted.
Before long, the students are menaced by what Cecily claimed to be the Horse of the Hammerstines, a ghost who is out to extract revenge for being replaced by a car.
Chris Riddell is a constant source of delight with his quirky stories and detailed illustrations. His stories have the power to engage young readers as well as adults with a love for the odd. His line art is full of visual humour and points of interest.
Perhaps what surprised and delighted me quite a bit was one of the postcards from Ottoline’s parents, who mailed it on 13 April 2008 while they were in our neck of the woods attending the Sarawak Hornbill Festival.
Book Sunday: Forgotten Tales of Long Ago
I found this at Book Castle. I’ve not read it yet, and I suspect I won’t for a while. But I simply have to show you what I found inside:
