Otto P. Nudd

September 1, 2020

Gr 3-7-The eponymous raven in this animal-human friendship adventure is a bit full of himself. Having been rescued as an unfledged corvid by a kindly old inventor named Bartleby, Otto P. Nudd has devoted himself to the man and inventing. He is adjusting to life with his mate Lucille, and his egg, enormous as it is. He is also devoted to Pippa, Bartleby's next-door neighbor and fellow corvid appreciator. Pippa lives with her perfectionist party-planning mother, who worries that her daughter is not befriending children her own age. Pippa still grieves the death of her father. Otto looks down on others in the neighborhood, especially Marla the squirrel. He and Marla are at war over her aggressive collection of peanuts that Bartleby leaves out. Otto must eat crow, so to speak, when Bartleby knocks himself unconscious while testing a new invention and Otto needs help rescuing him. This fast-paced story is laced with humor and big words, rendering it a fun read-aloud where those words can be discussed. Gray-toned illustrations mark each chapter, which have descriptive and humorous headings. VERDICT This animal adventure is perfect for fans of Babe: The Gallant Pig author Dick King-Smith, and is sure to prompt young readers to appreciate the intelligence of ravens and crows.-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill M.S., Closter, NJ

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2020
Animals and humans learn to work together and help each other. Otto and Lucille are newlyweds who are expecting their first child. In almost every respect, they lead the life of a conventional middle-class couple, except...they are a pair of ravens, and Lucille is busy hatching an egg. Otto is a clever but verbose and arrogant bird who reads Popular Science and spends much of his time assisting Bartleby Doyle, an elderly inventor who is building a flying machine in his workshop. Otto has a special relationship with 10-year-old Pippa Sinclair, with whom he trades treasures. When Doyle takes a nasty tumble while trying out the flying machine inside his workshop, Otto rushes to get help, setting in motion an extraordinary chain of events involving a whole neighborhood of characterful speaking animals and birds and even a few humans. In trying to rescue his human mentor, Otto is taught a few life lessons about respect and humility. Lucille tells Otto that to get what he wants, he will need to make amends to all the animals to whom he has been unkind. Readers will be drawn into the unstoppable excitement of the chase and may learn a few lessons in social behavior as well as a little science along the way. Most human characters are assumed White. An original offering; part quirky and rambunctious animal adventure, part physics lesson, part friendly morality tale. (Fiction. 8-12)

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