Inside The Pages of a Great Book

OTTO, THE BOOK BEAR 

It should come as no surprise that I will always read books that are about books and in this book I immediately found myself charmed by Otto, The Book Bear ($16.99, Disney/Hyperion, ages 3-7) by Katie Cleminson. Imagine living inside a book on a shelf in someone’s house. Well that’s exactly where Otto, the book bear lives. Imagine also that this adorable page-sized brown bear could come alive “when no one was looking.”

What fun for Otto to explore the world not found in fiction, but for real. Real furniture, flowers and even a typewriter on which to compose his own tales. However Otto’s favorite thing was having children read his book especially the children who owned the book.  But sadly, one day Otto discovered the house empty, its owners having moved on and boxes of books forgotten or abandonned. Left to fend for himself and find a new home, Otto searches in vain but nothing seems to stack up to much. That is until Otto finds a welcoming new home, filled with books galore and lots of new friends, too.

Between Cleminson’s wonderful language and captivating artwork, this book is sure to be a crowd pleaser at storytimes, at bedtime or anytime for that matter. There is always time to read when a book is as engaging as Otto, The Book Bear.

Reviewed by Ronna Mandel