Product Description

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #109238 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Released on: 2008-04-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 3–5—While her parents are off traveling the world collecting "interesting things," Ottoline Brown lives in an elaborate apartment in Big City with her best friend, guardian, and accomplice in forming clever plans. He is called Mr. Monroe and is a silent creature from Norway who resembles Cousin Itt from the Addams Family. Ottoline solves a mystery involving a cat burglar, who is actually a cat, and the missing lapdogs of well-to-do women. The story is told through the text and the detailed line drawings that appear on each page. Done in black and white with red highlighting a quirky detail or two, the illustrations add humor, depth, and momentum to the narrative. The quickly moving plot is grounded in real emotion. Ottoline is a precocious child who misses her absent parents; in one scene she unwittingly treats Mr. Monroe with a childish cruelty that most parents will recognize. The equal ratio of text to illustrations makes this a good choice for reluctant readers, although there is some challenging vocabulary. There is enough detail in the exceptional illustrations to satisfy any graphic novel fan.—Caroline Tesauro, Radford Public Library, VA
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From Booklist
Don’t let the page count fool you. This “novel” is probably more pictures than text. It’s not, however, a graphic novel in the sense of a sequential telling; nor does it follow the model Brian Selznick used so effectively in The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007), where art replaced text to further the story. The pictures here simply add texture to the words they accompany—but what a delight they are. Award-winning British cartoonist Riddell (the Edge Chronicles, with Paul Stewart) illustrates in pen and ink, enhanced by crosshatching and a smattering of bright red, to concoct a cast of quirky characters and amazingly detailed backdrops on which they interact. The story, a lightweight mystery at best, begins by introducing calm, curious, detailed-obsessed young Ottoline, who, along with sidekick Mr. Monroe (think Gomez Addams’ hairy Cousin Itt)  investigates the disappearance of several pampered pooches, only to discover the dognapper isn’t exactly after canine company. In an oversize trenchcoat, Mr. Monroe makes a bizarre gumshoe, with fellow cast members, canines included, just as wacky. An entertaining alternative for chapter-book readers. Grades 2-4. --Stephanie Zvirin

Review
"Readers will find treasures in this beautifully illustrated [book]." -- Daily Telegraph (London)

"The illustrations add humor, depth, and momentum to the narrative…exceptional." -- School Library Journal (starred review)

"The pictures here simply add texture to the words they accompany—but what a delight they are. An entertaining alternative for chapter-book readers" -- ALA Booklist

"The work of a genius." -- Sunday Telegraph

Customer Reviews

Entertaining with Terrific Illustrations
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat, by Chris Riddell of Edge Chronicles fame, is the kind of book you might imagine if Roald Dahl and Brian Selznick had teamed up on a graphic novel. Ottoline is a young girl whose parents travel the world and leave her home in the family townhouse in the care of a friendly, hairy creature-person named Mr. Monroe.

I loved the characters in this book. Ottoline's a little like Pippi Longstocking -- brave and funny and always up for an adventure. And Mr. Monroe.... well, he was so cute I want to adopt him and keep him as a lap dog. Ottoline and Mr. Monroe team up to solve the mystery of a string of neighborhood burglaries -- a plot that is brought to life by the abundant and amazing illustrations.

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat
Chris Riddell has humour and style. My son read this book in one evening, he is waiting for the next one, "Ottoline goes to school". I liked Riddell's work in 'Edge Chronicles', "Far Flung Adventures" and "Muddle Earth" (with Paul Stewart). "Ottoline" is for younger kids (7-8 years); both girls and boys will enjoy it.

Extremely Entertaining
"Ottoline and the Yellow Cat" by Chris Riddell is an extremely entertaining book that reads more like a comic book than a novel due to the authors wonderful illustrations. My 5-year-old son love reading this and laughed at the crazy antics of the characters. This book is pretty short, but there is no lack of material, again due to the wonderful illustrations by Mr Riddell.