Ottoline and the Yellow Cat

Ottoline #1

by Chris Riddell

Meet Ottoline Brown and her best friend, Mr. Munroe. No puzzle is ever too tricky for the two of them to solve.

Genres: Childrens, Mystery, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Cats

176 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 2007

About the author

Chris Riddell was born in Cape Town, South Africa, where his father was an Anglican priest and a member of the ANC. The family moved to England in 1963, when Riddell was one year old, and he spent his childhood in a number of different locations, as his father moved between parishes. Both of Riddell's parents continued to be active in the anti-apartheid movement.

Chris Riddell is an internationally acclaimed writer and illustrator whose many awards include the Nestlé Gold Award and two Kate Greenaway Medals—the most prestigious prize for illustration in the UK. He is the creator of more than one hundred books for all ages, including the immensely popular series the Edge Chronicles and his latest chapter book series, starring the irrepressible Ottoline Brown, which School Library Journal called "exceptional." Chris lives in Brighton, England, with his wife and three children where he invents his amazing characters in a very tidy shed in his yard.

Reviews

[Sixpencesong · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been three months since I taught this book to my group of second graders and they STILL reference it during discussions of entirely unrelated books! Not only that but they bring in other books from the series and insist I look at visual motifs that have carried through from this book, the first in the series.

It's this last part that I think makes Ottoline and the Yellow Cat such a great book for teaching close reading to second graders. Not only are the pictures very detailed but much of the detail repeats cleverly throughout the book allowing the students to approach the idea of patterns and development as part of a text through the much more accessible route of pictures. Because they were picking up on visual details it was also much easier for them to explain their ideas to the other students and conversely much easier for the listening students to understand what they were saying - facilitating actual discussion between students rather than constant vying for my attention. Being able to see the details enabled them to be much more articulate about longer more extended ideas in contrast to the shorter contributions I often get when we read books that rely on the text for the story and being able to understand one another meant they were much more engaged. Details as simple as the fact that the lightbulbs above Ottoline's dinner table change each time we see the dinner table would lead to discussions about the relationship between Ottoline and Mr. Munroe with very little prompting from me.

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat is ostensibly about the mysterious disappearances of lapdogs but much of the story is, in fact, about loneliness - a difficult theme for young students to begin to explain. But the students were able to pick up on the different proportions in each of the pictures and the physical distance between the characters on each page not to mention the postcards from Ottoline's parents allowed them to begin framing their response to the story. I have to confess that I hadn't even really thought about this aspect of the story until the kids started pointing out things to me. That'll teach me to think I have anything to teach them!

All in all, a great book for ELL310. Although the pictures may make it accessible to a 210 class students will need a 310 vocabulary to be able to say everything they want to say about this book.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly charming! Sweet, humorous and clever. Full of detail. Fabulous illustrations. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[La pecera de Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ottoline y la gata amarilla" es un cuento escrito e ilustrado por Chris Riddell, publicado por Edelvives y traducido por Elena Gallo.
"Ottoline y la gata amarilla"es el primer cuento de una serie, le sigue "Ottoline va al colegio", "Ottoline en el mar", "Ottoline y el zorro púrpura", cuentos dirigidos a niños entre los 6-7 años hasta los 10 años de edad.

La protagonista de esta historia es Ottoline, una niña que vive en un edificio al que llaman molinillo de pimienta por su forma tan parecida a un molinillo de pimienta, junto a sus padres y el Sr. Monroe, pero sus padres pasan mucho tiempo fuera de casa por sus viajes y ella tiene que valerse por sí misma cada día. Debido a esto, ha aprendido a tomar decisiones, a no tener miedo, a buscar soluciones a problemas, a ser muy observadora y fijarse en detalles y estar siempre alerta.
Como es tan observadora se da cuenta que van desapareciendo perritos falderos por la zona y no duda, junto al peludo Sr. Monroe, ponerse a investigar estas desapariciones y ciertos robos que han tenido lugar al mismo tiempo y puede que estos hechos estén relacionados o no...

Este cuento es ideal para niños pequeños y que los papás les vayan leyendo porque las ilustraciones acompañan muy bien al texto y pueden fijarse en lo que sucede a través de los dibujos, y para los niños que ya leen, para coger cierta soltura porque la letra es grande, fácil de leer, cada página tiene ilustraciones en blanco, negro y rojo, además de texto en las mismas ilustraciones como si fuera un cómic o novela gráfica, es muy divertido, ameno, mantiene enganchado a la historia para saber como Ottoline una niña de la edad de los lectores, va buscando pistas para resolver estos misterios, pistas que también pueden descubrir los niños y así además de leer, jugar e interactuar con la novela.

Es muy fácil seguir la historia porque son pocos los personajes, muy distintos entre sí, humanos, perritos y otros seres fantásticos como el Sr. Munroe, un bichito peludo que odia la lluvia y que le cepillen.
Un libro ideal para los primeros lectores, tanto por la historia, la edición, las ilustraciones, la tipografía, el formato muy manejable, la sencillez de la narración, el misterio y la continuidad, porque al ser una serie de libros, seguro que van a querer conociendo más aventuras de la vida de Ottoline y el Sr. Munroe

[Laima · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story about a young girl named Ottoline Brown who lives with Mr. Monroe, a small and hairy creature from a bog in Norway. Her parents are away from home, travelling the world. Occasionally they send their daughter a postcard. The pair solve a mystery involving missing jewels, missing lap dogs and a mysterious yellow cat.
The illustrations are whimsical and well done.
I found the drawings to be a whole lot better and more interesting than the story itself. The story, in my opinion, ended too abruptly.

[Ophilia Adler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and all the illustrations. Will def read the rest in series as well! I think my students will enjoy reading this as well.

[Dragana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kris ne može da omane 😍
Upustite se u avanturu sa Otolinom i njenim dlakavim prijateljem Gospodinom Monroom. Zavirite u njen prelepi dom, uživajte u kolekciji njenih roditelja i učite se savršenom prerušavanju.
Ilistracije su magične kao u uvek kad je Kris u pitanju ❤

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creative, original, brand-new with a retro vibe. Line drawings in B&W with pops of red are profuse and critical to the appreciation of the story, but this is not a graphic novel (more like Hugo Cabret). Definitely follows a surreal inner logic, requiring a suspension of disbelief. Ppl who like the classics that have been resurrected by the https://www.nyrb.com/collections/the-... are likely to love this. I will read the sequels if I can get them from my library.

[Mady · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations of these books are just amazing! I enjoyed the story, but the drawings and all their details really kept me going back and forth! I’ve also appreciated that not everything in this story is spelled out and the reader is left to (read and) close the gaps.

And again, I loved reading an engaging middle grade book (that does not include fairies, princesses or unicorns)!
I’ll keep reading this collection when I manage to find more and will surely be looking for more books written and/or illustrated by Chris Riddell!

[Hulda Kristín Hauksdóttir · Rating 5 out of 5]

uppahalds bókin mín í allri veröldinni

[worldofbooksby_h · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mislim da svako ko je citao Gejmena zna  koliko je talentovan ilustrator Kris Ridl...a da li ste znali da on ima i svoje knjige? 😊
Kris Ridl zivi kraj mora u Brajtonu sa zenom i troje dece, svake nedelje crta karikature za novine Observer,a omiljeni slatkisi su mu gumene bombone ( kome nisu?😳😂 ) zbog kojih je i postao ilustrator.
Pored  toga sto je knjiga ispunjena prelepim ilustracijama(normalno) , nju prati i vrlo zabavna prica 😊
Krenimo polako u Velegrad gde nas u zgradi  Bibernici cekaju Otolina koja voli da resava teske zagonetke , smislja lukave planove,da sljapka barama i sakuplja svasta,i njen priljatelj gospodin Manro koji je mali , cupav i ne voli kisu niti da se ceslja.
On cuva Otolinu dok su njeni roditelji na putu, gde nabavljaju nove stvari za njihove zbirke kao sto su kraljevske kape i krune, meteoriti, skoljke, izuzetno male slike, bocice za mirise, termofore, plave bocice,mreze za hvatanje leptira, maske , itd..
Otolina najvise voli svoju kolekciju razglednica koje joj salju roditelji.❤
U gradu se odvija niz sumnjivih pljacki, iz zgrada nestaju psi, a vlasnice od soka ne mogu da daju izjave za novine i nista ne komentarisu...ovo sve privlaci paznju Otoline i g.Manroa..
Treba smisliti lukavi plan i resiti ovu zagonetku...zvuci kao pravi zadatak za ovaj dvojac...
Koji je cilj ovih pljacka i ko se krije iza njih?
Tajna se krije medju ovim stranica 😊 a vi cete sigurno uzivate u misteriji i predivnim ilustracijamaa ❤

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been enjoying the Goth Girl YA series by author and illustrator Chris Riddell. I also enjoyed his illustrations in Gregory Maguire's Cress Watercress. So it was with anticipation that I started Ottoline and the Yellow Cat, the first book in his children's series featuring young adventure Ottoline. It consists of 4 books.

Simply put, it was a joy to read. If you have young children that you are trying to encourage to read, try this series. The drawings are wonderful and filled with neat little twists and turns (probably the wrong word). The story was fun to read. Ottoline and her companion Mr. Munroe, a 'hairy' person that her parents brought back from the bog in Norway, live in the Pepperpot Building. Ottoline's parents are explorers and we hear from them from the many postcards they send to Ottoline (see pages 46 - 49 for examples of the postcards.

Ottoline is just a young girl, but her parents have hired a number of people to make sure that she is well looked after; Happy Nest Bed Makers, McBean Cleaning Service, Smith & Smith Pillow-Plumping, etc. The complete list is found on page 14. Ottoline and Mr. Munroe get involved in investigations. Ottoline is a Mistress of Disguise and has a diploma from the Who-R-U Academy of Subterfuge (you can see it on page 26).

It seems that lapdogs are disappearing from apartments of other buildings in the city and Ottoline and Mr. Munroe are going to solve this mystery. It involves the Yellow Cat in the title (of course). It's a fun, cute, entertaining story and I think all ages would enjoy it. Check it out and please try Chris Riddell's other work. (4.0 stars)

[Sonia Gomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ottoline Brown is the daughter of very famous scientists, Professor and Professor Brown. Her parents travel all over the world and always get her spectacular and exotic gifts, like the five spouted teapot. Although Ottoline lives all by herself in a luxurious apartment, she is never alone, there is Mr. Munroe a hairy bog creature from Norway, then there are all those Services which look after her, the food people, the people who make her bed, the service that shines the doorknobs. Ottoline is surrounded by people and never alone but at times she feels lonely and that is when she needs to brush Mr. Munroe's silky hair till it shines. Mr Munroe hates it, but he loves Ottoline.
Ottoline feels especially lonely when she receives those pretty postcards from Ma and Pa but she does have fun supervising all the Service people when they work.
Things were going fine until they discover that many dogs had just disappeared, the pet owners were distraught and the police utterly baffled. Who could be behind it all? Then they discover that a slinky, intelligent cat has a pet lending Agency, could the two events be tied up?
Ottoline and Mr. Munroe set out very heavily disguised, to unearth the mystery.
After a lot of hard work by Mr. Munroe and lot of planning and help from the Service Agencies, Ottoline and Mr. Munroe do manage to catch the notorious jewellery thief and hand her to the Police. The pet dogs are reunited with their owners, some of them actually hated their owners, because they insisted on taking them to a pet saloon. And which dog likes that?
The illustrations are simply fantastic, pages of exquisitely drawn out illustrations in black and white with an occasional brilliant splash of colour

[Vedeneeva Yulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Це прекрасно. І історія, і ілюстрації. Якщо у вас є дітки, то неодмінно рекомендую. Хоча рекомендую навіть якщо їх і немає, бо мати таке на поличках суцільне задоволення 🥰

[Alissa J. Zavalianos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm basically a child, but I love kid's books. I can't remember the last time I paid as much attention to the illustrations as I did to the words while reading. Every page had an picture, whether large or small, and it all served to create an amazing setting. I think hands down Chris Riddell is one of my favorite illustrators now. Just so good. I can't wait to read the next books in this cute little series!

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's cute. It's almost a graphic novel--but there's just enough text to keep it a book. I like the black and white w/occasional touches of red format.

But there's something a little TOO cute here, something that says "isn't this all so witty and charming"?
It reminds me of Eloise. And I HATE Eloise....

[Florence Dyke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that first got me into reading. As a dyslexic child a difficult feat. this book was difficult enough to make me not feel stupid when i didn't know a word but also exciting enough that i didnt get tired of it. Would recommend to any child with difficulty reading.

[Coleccionista de finales tristes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un libro con muy buenas ilustraciones pero la historia no tiene gracia alguna. Le he dado 3 estrellas por las ilustraciones.

[Masoome · Rating 3 out of 5]

خوب بود
تصویرسازی خوبی هم داشت
اما برای ۸-۱۰ سال مناسبه.

[Niina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Riddell on tullut tutuksi Ada Gootti lastenkirjoistaan. Osasinkin siis varautua tarttuessani Ottilia ja keltainen kissa -romaaniin hupaisaan tarinaan ja ihastuttavaan kuvitukseen. Mustavalkoisen kuvituksen yllättävänä väripiristeenä on punaista.

Riddellin kertomukset ovat täynnä nonsense ilottelua, juuri sopivan pöhköä lastenkirjoihin. Ottilia asuu Pippurimyllytalon 24. kerroksessa, asunnossa numero 243. Seuranaan hänellä on Mauri-herra, Pieni, karvainen norjalainen suo-otus. Ottilian vanhemmat matkustavat ympäri maailmaa keräämässä mielenkiintoisia esineitä, kuten keisarien hattuja, meteoriitteja, hirveän pieniä maalauksia, naamioita ja erikoisia kelloja.

Ottilian äiti lähettää tyttärelleen postikortteja matkoilta. Ne päättyvät aina P.S. merkintään, missä äiti antaa Ottilialle tai Mauri-herralle ajankohtaisia vinkkejä mm. asunnon siivoamisesta. Jälkikirjoitusten perusteella hän tuntuu tietävän koko ajan, mitä Ottilia puuhailee, vaikka onkin toisella puolella maailmaa.

Ottilia on varsin omatoiminen tyttö, vaikka elääkin varakkaassa ympäristössä: hänen luonaan käy nimittäin päivittäin tyynynpöyhijä, siivoaja, ruokalähetti, valaistussuunnittelija, ovennuppien kiillottaja ja koko joukko muita erialojen ammattilaisia.

Ottilia on valepukujen valtiatar, josta hänellä on Puijausopiston todistus. Valepuvuista onkin hyötyä, sillä kaupungissa tapahtuu jotain outoa: sylikoiria katoaa ja rikkaiden rouvien koruja varastetaan. Ottilia päättää selvittää, mikä on rikosaallon takana, apunaan luotettava ystävänsä Mauri-herra.

Ottilia sopii erityisesti 6-10-vuotiaille, niin ääneen luettuna kuin lukemaan oppineillekin. Ja ainakin nuorimmat lukijat nauttivat varmasti piirrosten yksityiskohtaisuudesta, kuten erikoisten esineiden bongaamisesta. Vinkki: katsokaapa ruokapöydän yläpuolisia valaisimia, ne ovat erilaiset joka kerta- minulla meni hetki aikaa huomata se. Heinäkuussa 2017 ilmestyy sarjan toinen osa, Ottilia menee koulu

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover is done up in faux gold leaf curliques, and most pages are completed by diagrams or clever little black and white illustrations, this alone was enough to get me to open up the book. But then there's it's heroine, Ottoline. She's a clever girl always recording things her journal, she enjoys maintaining her parent's large collections, eavesdropping on her neighbors, and brushing the full length hair of her Cousin It-esque nanny, Mr. Munroe while her parents are off traveling the country in search of rare artifacts.

All is well until there's a spot of a dilemna in the Big City. There's an alarming number of missing pets and robberies, that are baffling the police. Ottoline and Mr. Munroe, along with a laundry stealing bear who lives in the basement, wonder if there's a connection between the two.

[Donald Armfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

My oldest daughter and I read this page for page. (she read one I read the next, she read cloud balloons too) Half comic half story. Interesting read.

Jordyn (my daughter) says her favorite part was Ottoline's shoe collection. She keeps one and only wears one of the pair.

My only question is how does her mother know what's going on when they are on vacation?

what do you think I said to my daughter.....we know everything...lol

Great read, help solve the mystery.

[Míša Končelová · Rating 5 out of 5]

Velmi povedená dětská kniha, která nejen, že pobaví, ale ještě k tomu je vytvořena tak, aby děti mohly příběh díky obrázkům a poznámkám lépe probádat. Tahle kniha není jen o čtení příběhu, ale také o zaměstnání dětské hlavinky i z jiného úhlu. Vydařené.
http://kniznidenicek.blogspot.cz/2016...

[Ashlee Null · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriously so precious. Quick mystery with a neat little ending. Heavily illustrated chapter book. I read this 150+ page book in less than an hour on my lunch break. The details in the drawings are just amazing but I expected that from Chris Riddell. Would totally read the rest if they were available in the USA. Shoutout to my coworker for picking this up on his trip to London.

[Spigana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vai man dieniņ, šis bija vienkārši brīnišķīgi!

[Marie the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aw, such a cute and fun read. Love the drawings and Riddell is almost as good as Gaiman with his inventions and storyline.

[Labeba Salameh · Rating 4 out of 5]

عشقت تفاصيل الرسومات
هذا الكتاب دفقة من البهجة

[Emilija · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bukvalno vrišti detinjstvo i taj neki divni bezbrižni period.

[Ashley Adriana maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my favorite chris riddell book so far. I love his art style. A really cute and fast read. Its a lovely childrens book.

[XfeliX · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love Chris Riddell, you HAVE TO read this!!!! I'm sure there are more illustrations than words in this book and every single one of them is brilliant!

[Fenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my students and it was genuinely so fun and cute!