Otis and the Puppy

Great little stocking stuffers

My grandson loves these books, and a tractor called Otis is a find made in heaven for a farm-loving 2 year old called Otis!

Kids loved this.. Otis is really cute..

I fell in love with Otis the tractor after reading the first book. And I've loved the sequels equally well. This is such a sweet story about friendship and facing one's fears for the sake of someone else. Both Otis and his friend, the puppy, are afraid of the dark, but when the puppy gets lost, Otis must face his fear or leave his friend alone in the dark all night. I also loved the idea at the end that those things we fear aren't so scary when we face them with those we love. The story is beautifully written and would be great for sharing. The large size makes it especially appropriate for sharing with larger groups. The illustrations are gorgeous. It's amazing how much expression that Long gives his characters, especially Otis and the puppy. The large beautiful illustrations clearly show the tender relationship between Otis and his friends and especially between Otis and the puppy. My favorite picture shows the puppy asleep with his head resting on Otis's front tire. Highly recommended.

Loren Long has a gift for telling sweet, timeless stories. His books feel like tales that I grew up with, and my parents grew up with, and probably my grandparents grew up with. My son enjoys them now, and I'm sure he will enjoy reading them to his children. Writing stories like that takes skill, talent and a particular gift. Before writing this review, I went back to read what I wrote for my review of the first Otis book. This was my first sentence: This is one of the books that I bought solely because I love, love, LOVE the artwork. That is mostly true of Otis and the Puppy, except now I knew that I would be getting a lovely story to go with the sumptuous and absolutely perfect illustrations.