Otto Runs For President

by Rosemary Wells

A hilarous and satisfying election story from renowned author-illustrator Rosemary Wells.

It's election time at Barkadelphia School, and popular kids Tiffany and Charles are already in the running. Unfortunately, they care a bit more about winning than they do about their voters. Before long, little Otto thows his hat in the ring; he doesn't have a flashy campaign, but he does have a big heart and a great idea -- he polls the students and asks them what THEY want for the school. When the ballots are finally counted, Otto wins by a landslide -- but he learns that while it's hard work running for president, it's even harder work BEING president.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Dogs, Fiction, Politics, School, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Rosemary Wells is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She often uses animal characters to address real human issues. Some of her most well-known characters are Max & Ruby and Timothy from Timothy Goes To School (both were later adapted into Canadian-animated preschool television series, the former’s airing on Nickelodeon (part of the Nick Jr. block) and the latter’s as part of PBS Kids on PBS).

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this book goes over the heads of its intended audience. I am not sure the author (one I have a great deal of respect for usually) knew what audience she was trying to reach with this one. Focuses too much on nasty behavior and not enough on the steady behavior of the main character. Won't be reading this to kids again.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had good intentions , but the execution falls flat. The elementary school president elections features three candidates. Two superficial popular "dogs" and one average 'dog'. The popular dogs are bankrolled by their parents and promise outlandish and unrealistic thing at school such as soda in the water fountain and barkaloungers. Otto promises things he can keep such as new nap-time blankets. It reads like a parody of November election season. In fact I double-checked the copyright so I could see who specifically we were mocking. ( 2008 ). Spioler Alert - Otto wins. Good triumphs. Or something like that.

[Stephanie Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's time for elections at Barkadelphia dog school! I thought this was a funny book that would be fun to read to students around election time or for building a classroom community where happiness and harmony is found through cooperation, unselfishness, and listening to each other. I also thought it was funny that, although all the characters are dogs, there was a disclaimer at the beginning that any resemblance of any of the characters to real people/political candidates is merely coincidental.

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story of three dogs running for school president. The main focus is that two of the dogs run negative campaigns full of empty promises, while the third (Otto) quietly works to find out what the voters really want. Most of the attention was drawn to the negative behaviors of the first two dogs, rather than the positive actions of Otto. I think it relied too heavily on negatives, including negative stereotypes of cheerleaders/jocks/popularity and didn’t really seem to hit where kids would care or understand what was going on behind the scenes.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how Otto, the underdog, decided to run for president of the school because he cared about the opinions and thoughts of his peers. He didn't just care about himself, like Tiffany and Charles did. This story shows that you don't have to be competitive and putting yourself out there in every way possible for people to see you as the right candidate for the job.

[Kenson and kirra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love rosemary wells. she is my favorite author. i learned about her this past summer in the library's free reading program. now i read her books whenever i get a chance. this one is about a school for animals who elect a class president. i hope that if i ever run for class president i will be fair like otto

[Keri Rohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otto Runs For President is a modern fantasy book appropriate for grades K-3. I think this book has a good lesson for kids about bullying and getting what you work for. This book not only had a great message, but was also very entertaining to read.

[Penelope Gonzalez-Aguilar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book that I'm reading to first grade this week. It talks about don't be greedy just because you want to run for something. Because if you show that type of emotion, you could lose.

[Hailey Forbes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: modern fantasy
Reading Level: elementary

This book shows that sometimes the underdog wins. This is important because some students may feel left out and need that extra boost of confidence.

[Richard Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to teach people who to elect to govern.

[Marci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m glad that the author showed that Charles and Tiffany were sad that they lost the election but they didn’t throw a tantrum about it.

[Lucy Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

simple and easy read- dangers of being selfish and reminders to always be selfless, caring, and generous- think of others- promoting typical outdated gender roles but still cute

[Myka Ellenwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Fantasy
Grade Level: K-3
This book is really cute. It incorporates voting which is a topic that is not in many kids books. It also teaches that if you listen to what people want they will like you more than if you buy them. I would recommend this book to many students.

[Alexandra Burkholder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kindergarten to 3rd grade
Genre: modern fantasy
This book was not my favorite. I do not like how it includes typical high school stereotypes in the elementary school setting. I also feel the storyline did not make much sense as we follow two popular dogs, but the story is about the underdog, literally. I give the book two stars because I can see what the author was trying to do and because the illustrations are done very well.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kids watched this one on one of their Scholastic DVDs and it is one of their favorites from the collection. The story really makes it clear what a good leader should be like and the exaggerated bad behavior is fun. Could be a picture book to use to teach parody/satire.

[Valerie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great children’s book about elections and what really matters
It is election time at Barkadelphia School and the competition is fierce. Tiffany a brown poodle is the prettiest and most popular girl, and she wants to win the election, but Charles the bulldog, is the captain of all the sports teams and her biggest competition.

Meanwhile, Otto with the help of his friend Melanie, decides that he wants to run for class president as well. While Tiffany and Charles are busy promoting themselves, Otto talks to all of the students at Barkadelphia School and asks them what they really want. They desire blankets for nap time, watermelon in the cafeteria, and bigger towels in the gym. Not hairspray and mirrors like Tiffany wants or more meat at lunch and skateboards in the hall like Charles.

Throughout the book, Tiffany and Charles campaign throughout their school until a simple election turns into a contest of insults and smears between the two, while Otto continues talking to his classmates. When the time for voting comes, who will win?

Perfect for the young reader, Otto Runs for President explores the voting process and shows that a good president cannot be won by insults and lies, but by listening to the voters and meeting their needs.

Recommended for readers age 4-8.
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[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a preschool-appropriate glimpse into the pseudo-popularity contest that is politics. But it has a happy ending.

The two most popular dogs at school are running for kindergarten president. They are stereotypes--vacuous cheerleader and meathead jock. The not-so-popular Otto throws his hat into the ring as well, and runs on a platform of real change--like promoting a homework help line (Gah! Is there homework that challenging in kindergarten these days?!)--rather than the lip service for more mirrors in the girls' bathroom and soda in the water fountains offered by his opponents.

Election tomfoolery ensues. The big day comes. And... I won't spoil it for you.

The Wellsian illustrations are uniformly cutesy, with little paw prints bordering the pages. If a young child seems interested in the endless political seasons that now rule the airwaves, this might be a book to read. It's astute, but not too harsh.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was completely surprised when the six 2nd and 3rd graders picked this as their favorite of our three election books with four votes. I find the pictures to be static and flat and the story to be a little cloying, although perhaps they liked it because this is clearly geared to a younger audience than Grace for President and Madam President. Then again it could be that this was the only one of the three in which a boy ended up being President and we had more boys than girls. Who knows? Wells' look at a class presidential election could easily be used for 1st graders and even possibly kindergarten students and provides a nice lesson in civic responsibility along with some humor.

Used for October "Vote for Your Favorite Book/Election Theme" Tons of Fun.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being for children, this is a fairly realistic look at the way elections are should be run.

The most popular boy and girl, a bulldog and a poodle, in school decide to run for class president. Each makes outlandish promises - Preferred Seating in the Cafeteria, Soda in the Water Fountain. Then the sneaky, smear tactics begin - Did Charles copy Pierre's homework? Tiffany - WRONG on hair spray! WRONG for Barkadelphia School!.

Meanwhile, Otto, a lovable mutt, quietly talks to his classmates to find out their needs and concerns.

The most deserving candidate wins!

If only our elected officials would learn from these pups!

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not usually a fan of Rosemary Wells, so I was not surprised that I did not like this book. This book, however, seems to be pretty out-of-touch with the average picture book reader. The main characters are in fifth grade, which is pretty old for the picture book crowd, and they act more like they are in middle school. Also, I don't think Kindergarten kids have had a nap, with or without a blanket, for at least twenty years.

[Ashley Wampler · Rating 5 out of 5]

School elections are coming up. There are two candidates running, one athlete and one "popular" girl. Otto sees that the two kids running but they are only looking out for themselves. Otto realizes that he would be a great school president who listened to the whole student body. Otto decides that he is going to run for president! The campaign continues. Who is going to win?

[Linda Costello · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the two popular kids duke it out for class president the under dog asks the students what they want. Because he is not selfish and listens to the needs of the students he wins. I do not like that it says the popular kids are the cutest and the sports captain.

[Melissaschott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otto runs for school President and wins because he was the only candidate that listened to his friends at his school. This is a great book to show that to be a good friend you need to listen, not talk all the time. It also was a good discussion for November elections.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about different students running for president, however the whole book is in Spanish. So I would use this book for my hispanic students. I could have this book available in my classroom library.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two popular people running for student body president. While they are at each other's throats, Otto joins the race. He goes undetected but wins over the votes by learning what the student's really want. Cute book!

[ckodama152 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to explain to young children the concept of running for an election and what things people do when they want to be elected - the good things as well as the bad things. Recommend for grades K-2.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tiffany and Charles are the natural choices for running for president at Barkadelphia School because they are pretty and popular. However Otto and others are concerned that they only care about themselves versus their classmates, so Otto runs against them.

[Shunta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was completely in Spanish. I personally could not understand it but I beat ELL's would love it. I would use it to help teach students whats it like for others that speak and read different languages or even students that struggle in the area.

[Kim Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just bought this book today, and love it! I love that the underdog wins. I love the message about becoming a leader and listening to the voice of others. This is about courage and leadership and perserverence.

[Roxanne Hsu Feldman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very idealistic, ain't it?