Oswald

Oswald

by Dan Yaccarino

Oswald the bright blue Octopus and his hot dog, Weenie, make many new friends when they move to Big City, in a tale based on characters who will soon appear in their own Nickelodeon TV series.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Friendship

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

Exhibitions of his work have been held throughout the world. He is also the creator of the animated TV Series Willa's Wild Life and Oswald.

Mr. Yaccarino lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[Spudpuppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nobody on this awful janky website has any taste, Oswald is a king and Weenie is a king and this whole book absolutely slaps and that’s that!!!!

[Amy Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh... As a kid, I probably would have liked this book because he's cute and he makes cute friends and they all eat snow cones and cake. As an adult, I'm terribly under-impressed. The plot is thin, and the characters aren't super interesting. The illustrations are cute, but they're nothing spectacular. The writing style is pretty boring. This is definitely one of those books where the merchandising people thought, "Hey, this is a popular show; let's make a book about it really quick!" The people most interested in this book will probably be fans of Oswald's TV show from nearly a decade (!) ago.

[Arminzerella · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Oswald the octopus moves to a new town with his daschund, Weenie, he's worried about making new friends. But he has nothing to worry about - he's a friendly fellow. As Oswald and Weenie are trying to move Oswald's piano into their new home, it rolls away from them and crashes - quite far away - into a fountain. From there, Oswald meets more and more new friends as other characters appear, are introduced, and volunteer to help him get the piano home. Cute, but kind of predictable.

[Noor Mahmood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun little book to read to a younger group pf children its kind of repetitive but its one of those books where people keep saying the same thing and someone adds something to say after, so the children can then repeat what each person said if they got the hang of it and it can become an interactive book.

[Thomasin Propson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yawn. I take it this is from (or the spark which created) a children's cartoon? I didn't like the pictures (reminded me of the 'Mr. so-and-so' and 'Miss so-and-so' characters from books of my childhood - which I didn't like then either) and the (absurdly numerous) characters don't have personalities and the story is dull. I've enjoyed other books by Yaccarino, but this one is a dud.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oswald and his Hot Dog Weenie move to the big city and Oswald is needlessly worried that he won't make any friends. If you're a fan of the tv show, you might enjoy this. Otherwise, I'd say take a pass.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was weird.

[Shannon Futrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cute book. It can be used for teaching students to help others. It could be used for kindergarten to second grade.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

With names like Oswald and Weenie you can't help not at least like adventures of Oswald (an octopus) and his pet hot dog, Weenie. My 16-month old totally digged this book (not sure why) but would often find him flipping through the book looking at the pictures. Later, I realized it's also a children's TV show which made me like it a little less.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

As odd as it is, our girls enjoy the tv show "Oswald" (or at least they used to.) This book is about when Oswald and Weenie move to Big City and meet all the characters that end up being on his show. It's an odd book, but very much in line with the show.

[Melodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dog was my favorite character. This has a very simple plot that will encourage very young readers with its slight repetition and vivid colors. This may also be beneficial for children who are moving into a new home/neighborhood and are worried about making friends.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the oddball illustrations, but the story was kind of a mess.

[Mikana · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bright little story for the really young. Good to read to your loved ones, or share with those who love to just stare at the images.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was boring and so did the kids at my work. A lot of the silly jokes are aimed towards much older people.

[(A) (h)uge (dev)ourer *of books* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oswald is the best cartoon character ever made seriously! Each and every human being has to learn from him - how to be nice, humble, sweet, generous, friendly, brainy, polite and patient and kind!!

Dan Yaccarino - Can't thank you much enough for creating such a beautiful series and you don't know how much I crave to live in the 'Big city' instead of here :) You are amazing!!