Otto: The boy who loved cars

by Kara LaReau, Scott Magoon (Illustrator), Kara LeReau

Otto loves cars more than anything else in the world. He plays with cars, he dreams about cars, . . . he even eats cars (his favorite cereal is Wheelies). But that all changes when he awakes one morning to find that he has somehow turned into a car.Otto soon realizes that there is a downside to actually becoming his favorite thing. While the rest of his friends get to play and draw, Otto can only honk and sputter. Will Otto ever be able to switch gears and go back to being a boy?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cars, Storytime, Transport, Fiction, School

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 21, 2011

About the author

Kara LaReau was born and raised in Connecticut. She received her Masters in Fine Arts in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts and later worked as an editor at Candlewick Press and at Scholastic Press. Among other celebrated titles, she edited Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and the Mercy Watson series. She is the author of picture books such as UGLY FISH, illustrated by Scott Magoon, Baby Clown, illustrated by Matthew Cordell, and Goodnight Little Monsters, illustrated by Brian Won; chapter book series Witchycakes, illustrated by Ariane Moreira and The Infamous Ratsos, illustrated by Matt Myers; and middle-grade trilogies The ZomBert Chronicles, illustrated by Ryan Andrews, and The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters, illustrated by Jen Hill.  Kara lives in Providence, Rhode Island with her husband and daughter and their cats.

Reviews

[Heydi Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feeling about this one.

I appreciate the message which is a great one, kids tend to get obsessed with one item, or character, or show, or food and this is an important lesson. (Even though I know this is completely normal and natural and part of the learning process and should not be discouraged.)

On the other hand I don't think suggesting that if a child loves something so much they will turn into it. That's a scare tactic that I can't get on board it.

That being said, I don't think most children will be bothered, I think they will enjoy it for what it is, a cute picture book.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy who loves cars wakes up to find he has become one. Better than waking up as a cockroach!

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute enough. And possibly useful in a case where a child has an obsession with ONLY one kind of book (or TV show or toy or whatever).

A little preachy. But still cute.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otto is a boy who loves cars so much that overnight he turns into one. Not such a good deal for Otto. Very bright illustrations, though, and it saves the book.

[Gabrial Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about Otto, a little boy who loved cars. He eats, drinks, and sleeps cars. In fact one day he goes to bed and wakes up to be a car. He realizes that it's not all it's cracked up to be. The moral of the lesson was that sometimes you need to 'switch gears' and not stick to one routine all the time.

This is a good book for any little boy (or girl) that loves cars. The pictures are big and tell the story well. I would think it would be good for first or second graders.

I would implement this in my classroom if we had a discussion about not sticking to one thing,,, to broaden your horizons and try new things and get new interests.

LaReau, Kara, and Scott Magoon. Otto The Boy Who Loved Cars. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2011. Print.

[Danielle Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otto is all about cars until one day he magically turns into a car and lives the life of a car for a day. After the long hard day as a car Otto sees that cars are not always as good as they seem to be, and the life of a car can be extremely rough. When he misses his friends at the playground and his parents getting him his food, he cries and wishes he was a boy again. The next morning he becomes himself again, and he learns how good he has it with great friends, teachers, and especially family.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library because my son loves cars, almost as much as Otto does. Otto eats, sleeps, breathes and plays with cars. One day he becomes one and is frustrated that no one understands him and he can't eat or play with his friends (who all have car names), and he is obviously upset. When he wakes up the next day (not as a car), he is relieved and vows to be more open to other things. It didn't seem to penetrate my son, that he can like more than one thing, but then again he is only three, lol. Anyways, it was a cute story. Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars.

[Mandeep’s reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was too advanced for my almost 2yo, but a huge hit with my almost 4yo preschooler.

The story is about a strange day in the life of Otto, who is a well mannered boy with a major car obsession. My daughter's favorite part is of course when he wakes up turned into a car.

She is was able to relate to him despite not being similarily obsessed with cars. In fact she wanted to invite him over to play.

Nice large book with gorgeous illustrations. Would recommend.

[Sandybear76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one to first graders with Pinkicilious and the Pink Pumpkin. Otto loves cars and lives cars all day from breakfast to bed. He sleeps in a bed that likes look a car and wears pj's with cars on them and eats wheel-shaped cereal for breakfast. Till one day, he changes and no one seems to notice. Very cute.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 4-year-old is obsessed with cars so this book was perfect for him! He loved that Otto's best friends were named Chevy, Mini, and Kia. He loved that Otto's mom called him "my little speedster". He loved when Otto's mom said, "Don't let the spark plugs bite" at bedtime.

[Shazzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little cautionary tale about loving something a little too much (much like a boy's Pinkalicious). Sharp illustrations by Scott Magoon liven up Kara LaReau's text. Car-loving boys will, I'm sure, fall head over heels for Otto.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otto's whole life was related to cars, from his room, to his cereal, to the games he played with his friends. One morning he woke up and to his surprise, he was a car! It was a frustrating day, and in the end Otto realized it was time to switch gears.

[Romelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice picture book for the car lover in your family. I love the imagination then went into writing this book and the message of trying new things even if the "scare tactic" was used. I find it a fun idea.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and not-overly-didactic story about how everyone needs to be well-balanced! Loved it--great onomatopoeia!

[Jackie DeStefano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for a read-aloud. Love the illustrations.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, full of puns and tongue-in-cheek humor, and rife with clever illustrations. The kids and I enjoyed this one!

[Bobby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any parent with a topic-obsessed child will appreciate this and kids think it's funny that a kid turns into a car.

[Susan Katz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a bit dubious about books that offer little lessons, and this one seemed to me to do that fairly cleverly, but still the lesson seemed to be the point of the book.

[Cari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute picture book for PreK - 2

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

Otto really loves cars. So much that his dreams becomes true, he is a car and experience a day as a car.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

My nephew Otto got this book for Christmas. So cute!

[Heather Griffitts Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son absolutely LOVES this book (and of course, he loves cars). The concept is cute and offers a different way of thinking about the things we love.

[Debby Baumgartner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Otto loves cars and can think of nothing else. One night he turns into a car and with his experiences as a car he realizes that there are more things in life than cars.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

AJ loves this, but I'm note sure he really *gets* the message. :)