Ottoline and the Yellow Cat
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, VACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.