Otis Grows

by Kathryn Hast, L.M. Phang (Illustrations)

Young Otis is forced to question his origin and allegiances, given that his mom, a yellow chicken, is part of the Nuh-Uhs, and his dad, a blue flower, stems from the Yes-Chums. Struggling to find answers, Otis runs away, only to encounter more colors (and cultures) than he could ever imagine, including a giant portrait full of possibilities. Otis Grows is a picture book, rooted in the challenges of family conflict, but appealing to any child--or adult--who knows that growing up can be tough, that there is "the odor of growing older," but that ultimately, love and wonder will win.

Genres: Picture Books

40 pages, Hardcover

Published December 1, 2016

About the author

Kathryn Hast has a Master’s of Fine Arts degree in writing and a Master’s degree in Education. She is from York, Pennsylvania, and she lives in Asheville, North Carolina with her husband and two children. She has one dog named after a Beatles song, and one that barks at the television. Otis Grows is her first published work of fiction, and her next book Batty Betty is forthcoming.

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

OTIS GROWS
A cute picture book written in poetry with playful illustrations.
A parent to child read that could begin a discussion of how to live one's life.

[Andréa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are well-done, but the story itself is too disjointed to be enjoyable. An onion is the child of a chicken and a flower. The chickens and the flowers are at perpetual war with each other. The onion meets a talking crystal. Oh, and there's a wall of artwork depicting great humans of history. Too much, too weirdly joined together to work well.

Note: I received a digital review copy through NetGalley.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems like there are more children's books than ever. It's a thick field, but not many of them will make the parent think as much as the child, and this one does. This thing is pretty dense to be such a small book, which is exactly what makes it so great. There are shout outs to artists, dancers, Nelson Mandela, and Bruce Lee (and a few notable others) which is a great way to start kids asking questions. The most important thing, however, is simply the message. Trying to fit in as a child is always hard, and I certainly don't think that has changed, so this is a great book to let kids know that it's okay to be different and even take their time to figure out who they are and how their differences matter. The best part, however, is maybe that it reminds all of us to slow down every now and then just look at our world, which I think is a great message for children and adults alike.

[Michelle Arredondo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otis Grows!! From the standpoint of a mother...I thought this book was adorable...rich in illustration, color, and much for the eyes to look at as you flipped through each page. The narrative...a little complicated for young readers to completely follow. The story itself...wonderful, although of course that comes with pausing to explain what each page meant to my young readers of 6 and 9. That's not a negative thing at all....as a parent we often find ourselves doing that so that children can learn to fully understand and process scenarios that they are faced with in their mind. We do the same if we are reading an Easy Reader, A Dr. Seuss...or any other such book. Mind you...this one took a bit more explanation...but still..nothing that really bothered me to do. Bonding..quality time...can't complain about that. If you want to get through a quick read with your child...then save this book for when you have more time on your hands.

So on with the story....bad things in life happen. They happen often. But this story explains that we can face them, go through them, grow from it and help others as they go through their experiences. School children most especially need to know this story. Learning what they can do when faced with troubles...how they can cope...how they can become that person that helps others.

As for my kiddos....I asked, they said: "I like Otis". So there you go.

A book I will read to my kids again. A book I will read to all the kiddos I babysit. A book I recommend to family. A book I recommend to anyone reading this review.

Thanks as always to the wonderful peeps here at goodreads for my free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review to which I gladly and voluntarily gave.

[Sharon Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otis Grows is a picture book written by Kathryn Hast, M.L. Phang. Young Otis is forced to question his origin and allegiances, given that his mom, a yellow chicken, is part of the Nuh-Uhs, and his dad, a blue flower, stems from the Yes-Chums. Struggling to find answers, Otis runs away, only to encounter more colors (and cultures) than he could ever imagine, including a giant portrait full of possibilities.

Otis Grows is a picturebook with wonderful illustrations, and great intentions- but it requires a lot of shrugging off the impossible. Otis is an onion, and the child of an flower and a chicken- how is that even a thing? I think the culture and acceptance theme could have been served just as well- and less disturbingly to this avid gardener-if the parents were plants from opposite ends of the garden bed. But, that is just me. I did like how Otis explored and discovered how different- and yet the same- everyone is. I also liked the exploration of how we each change- although I am not sure the target audience really has to worry about the 'odor of growing older' quite yet. I loved the theme and the message of the book, and the life lessons that it is intent on teaching.

Otis Grows is an interesting tale- I loved that love and acceptance wins out and is show to be so important, but fort he book to be esoteric enough that I think many will get so caught up in the oddity that they will miss the beauty of the artwork and the intent behind the story.

[Lindsey Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Otis is a purple onion (or maybe a turnip). His parents are a chicken and a flower (what). The chickens and flowers are at war with each other (what). The artwork was okay but the poetry fell short. Reading this felt like a weird fever dream. It jumped around and tried to touch on a million different topics. Maybe it would have been better as a few books in a series instead of one big jumble? I’m still not entirely sure what was going on except I guess the message was that kids don’t have to imitate their parents, they can find their own way and also that racial hatred and war in general are not necessary? Or maybe that chickens shouldn’t wear combat boots? I don’t know.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this children's book about a little onion as he begins to understand that there is room for differences in the world.

[Chris Worthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to interview the author for an upcoming story. The book is one that can grow with kids over time. It is unique and creative and meaningful.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

My grandson will love this! I won my copy in a giveaway here on goodreads. Thank you!

[Lori Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super cute book that rhymes that I can read to my grandchildren over and over again. I loved it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly lovely artwork. The story is adequate, but I think children will enjoy it. The artwork, though, is the real deal! Kids will love it! I know I did!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heavy handed much?

Do you remember reading Dr. Suess's The Sneeches? Remember how they argued if the ones with stars were better or the ones without? That was of course about prejudices. It was a light hearted way about telling it, and getting kids to laugh at how silly this was.

This book...doesn't. It just is a little to heavy handed with Tulip like creatures that have boots that fight Chicken like creatures, and a little onion who is the product of two of these very different creatures, but finds that the whole rest of the world is not fighting, and why should his parents and their like do so.

So, no, didn't work for me. Wasn't fun or funny.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Sara Weather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked: Art

Disliked: This is a weird book it has all these messages about finding yourself, racism, and biracial-ness. It looks at historical figures from past (who are human). I feel it all gets jumbled and does not really work for me.

I received this from netgalley in exchange for my review.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book about an important lesson for children (and adults.) I personally love the historical references :)

[michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a great book in concept, but the execution fell flat. I'm honestly not 100% sure what the message was supposed to be. At times it felt like it was showing how there are two political sides that are so busy arguing with each other that they can't see the forest for the trees. At others, it was about a child coming from two different parents who didn't always see the world in the same way, but that we should learn from all that we experience and then use it to become a stronger person. Then there was a whole section about famous innovative thinkers and doers which just lost me completely. There are probably a few great stories in there, but as one book it didn't make sense. I also had a really hard time with the Yes-Chums and Nuh-uhs. Finally, if these two sides hated each other so much, then how in the world did they have an onion baby of their own?!?

I was able to read an advanced digital copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

[Noura · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 star

The points go to the beautiful illustration and that alone. The story had potential but was quite forgettable but what irked me is the font itself. I mean, it's a picture book and with this kind of story a more whimsical font could have done wonders.

[Amber Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otis is the story of an onion with parents who seem to disagree about everything and the challenges he faces as he discovers who he is and who he wants to be. While the story is a bit far-fetched, it excellently portrays how children might be feeling in this most recent political climate. This story would be a good read for children and adults alike. I am very impressed with the flow of writing and depiction of tough topics. It is wonderful for children to see that they have power in deciding who they want to be and a good reminder for adults to be more aware of their actions and impact on children.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm just beginning to revisit children's books now that my daughter is almost three and can sit through the good ones I remember. We didn't get all the way through this (it's probably 30 pages or more) but I was really impressed by the art work and imagination. There's really is a lot going on, but it's delightful! Flowers with boots, chickens with gloves...why not? In fact, Layla had so many questions about the book that we ended up having several (super cute!) conversations. This is not your typical formulaic "message" book (yawn)...it's one of those rare gems, whatever you want it to be. Looking forward to keeping this close by as Layla gets older.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister recommended this based on a blog she read. I'm glad she did. The art is beautiful and the message is a much-needed one. My daughters really got into it. Wacky, fun, important read!

[Glinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute. Awesome illustrations.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This nearly wordless picture book is something else. I do not think it could be entirely wordless and make sense. It barely makes sense with the few words it has. Apparently a chicken and a flower are parents to a turnip. But the chicken and the flower are not nice to each other. They fight a lot! Otis goes off to discover different things in life and that as he grows, the world around him grows as well. The illustrator does a great job, but they need to be paired with a writer who can make this book come to life. As it is, it is just a confusing mess. The story is not a simple one to understand from the pictures. Study up on Chris Van Allsburg who knew how to make a wordless book work great.