Chris Riddell

Ottoline Brown and her best friend Mr. Munroe try to come up with a clever plan to solve the burglaries that have been taking place the Big City.

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat

Sarah Sammis

Ottoline of Ottoline and the Yellow Cat by Chris Riddell is another of the child protagonists who have world traveling parents and are stuck at home basically alone except for a loyal crew of servants. Although the book starts with a trope that often annoys me, Ottoline is different. She's happy and she's clearly loved and in contact with her parents via postcards sent on behalf of their explorer's club. Ottoline also has a pal, an odd creature who looks like Cousin It, named Mr. Munroe. To her neighbors, Mr. Munroe is usually confused for being a pet dog.

This book isn't so much about Ottoline living alone. Instead, it's a mystery. The local wealthy adults are being robbed and the police are without any tangible leads. The only clue is the fact that their recently adopted dogs have also gone missing.

By itself, the mystery probably wouldn't be enough to sustain my interest in the book. What kept me turning the pages were Chris Riddell's lovely illustrations. As the pictures out number the text and are such an integral part of the plot I think the book qualifies as a hybrid graphic novel. It certainly has more in the way of artwork than other hybrids I've read (Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom for instance).

Riddell's illustrations have a complexity similar to Elenor Davis's The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook with a style that is reminiscent of Edward Gorey and Ian Falconer.

I checked out Ottoline and the Yellow Cat from my local library but I would love to own a copy.

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat

Reviews