Otto the Book Bear (review)

Otto the bear lives comfortably in his book, but when no one is looking, he comes to life and wanders off the book's pages. One fateful day, he is left behind by his human family and thus must go out into the world to find a new place. It's a treacherous journey, but Otto finally ends up at the city library, where he discovers a whole group of "book creatures" who, like Otto, come to life and love to have adventures. At its heart, this British import offers the fanciful premise of miniature storybook characters coming alive and exploring together. There are, however, too many unanswered questions about his situation: Why was his book left behind? Why doesn't he return to the book's pages upon his abandonment? Why doesn't he discover the existence of other book characters from other books at his initial residence? The art is airily appealing, featuring muted watercolors framed by thick, casual black outlines that lend a softness to Otto's quest. Otto is depicted as about the size of a mouse, and the illustrations are particularly good at portraying the daunting scale of the big world around him. Listeners with a soft spot for the lost might prefer a more developed tale such as Vulliamy's Small (BCCB 4/02), but this could provide a nice pro-library readaloud for storytime.