Gideon and Otto

by Olivier Dunrea

Overview

In this pitch-perfect board book for preschoolers, the little gosling Gideon loses his most prized possession: his stuffed animal, Otto the octopus. Follow this newest gosling in the world of Gossie&Friends as he searches all over the barnyard to find Otto!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547983981
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	03/05/2013
Series:	Gossie and Friends Series
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	55,893
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	1 - 3 Years

About the Author

Olivier Dunrea is the creator of beautiful and well-loved children’s books. A painter and a sculptor, his work centers around farms, animals, architecture, and folklore. He lives in the tiny village of Narrowsburg, New York, in the Catskill Mountains.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The small 6 x 6 format is just right for little hands, as is the clarity of the design...A lovely and comforting addition to a charming series."—Kirkus

"Every child and parent will feel that Dunrea has written these books for, and about, themselves."—Horn Book

Editorial Reviews

"The small 6 x 6 format is just right for little hands, as is the clarity of the design...A lovely and comforting addition to a charming series."--Kirkus

"Every child and parent will feel that Dunrea has written these books for, and about, themselves."--Horn Book

From the Publisher

Gideon is a gosling but he has the characteristics of many young toddlers. He has a little stuffed animal friend named Otto who he takes with him everywhere. Otto swims with Gideon, he hides with his friend in a pile of fall leaves. They read a book together and Otto is most attentive. When Gideon sees two bunnies playing he wants to go join them so he puts Otto on top of a rock. Well, you can almost guess what is going to happen. Otto falls off into the tall grass as the bunnies jump over the rock. Then Gideon's mother calls him for dinner and much to the little gosling's distress he cannot find Otto. He searches in all their favorite places, but no luck. Suddenly he spots something moving and what a surprise—Otto is no longer lost. The two buddies are reunited and you feel both the joy and almost like Otto is a real creature. The artwork is charming—small scenes set on crisp white pages with just enough detail and expression to tell the story. A winner for kids and especially those who have a favorite toy. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

PreS—Gideon is a "small ruddy gosling who likes to play. All day." This fun-loving, feathered fellow explores the farm and engages in such activities as "chase-the-piglet," "find-the-eggs," and "tag-the-mole." His mother calls, but Gideon keeps replying, "No nap! I'm playing!" After climbing to the top of a haystack and snuggling down in the straw, sleepiness wins out. In Gideon and Otto, children meet the gosling's favorite friend. When the toy octopus goes missing, a search of the leaf pile and pond ensues. Otto's triumphant return is on the back of a turtle. Dunrea's ink-and-watercolor illustrations capture Gideon's ebullient personality—feathers fly when he is racing to his next adventure, and his beloved stuffed toy is tucked under his wing when he is quietly reading a book. With their pitch-perfect texts and charming characters, these stories are ideal for toddlers.—Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

School Library Journal

Gideon the gosling loves toy Otto; Gideon loses Otto; Gideon finds Otto. Joy, oh joy. Gideon and his toy octopus, Otto, are inseparable. They swim, play and read together. But one day, Gideon leaves Otto on a wall while he plays with his bunny friends. During their playful romp, Otto falls into the long grass. Gideon searches desperately until Otto rides out of the grass on a turtle's back. There you have the entire tale, told simply, but conveying heartfelt emotion. Gideon, a new character in Dunrea's sweet gosling series, like his predecessors, reflects very young readers' concerns, experiences and confusions. Gideon and Otto are loving friends, no matter that one of them is an inanimate toy. His feelings of sadness and worry when Otto is missing are universal, as is his relief and happiness when they are reunited. The small 6 x 6 format is just right for little hands, as is the clarity of the design. Each page has one sentence in large typeface with an illustration above that perfectly matches the action and is surrounded by lots of bright white space. The illustrations are neatly outlined in black and are rendered in pen, gouache and ink on watercolor paper, with true shades of oranges, yellows and greens predominating. A lovely and comforting addition to a charming series. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews