Otto Drives Back and Forth to the City

Otto and his dad spot some weird and wonderful sights as they drive through the village into the dazzling heart of the city. In dynamic prints full of detailed pictures, Tom Schamp brings all kinds of animals to life in the most bizarre and remarkable vehicles. The multicoloured mishmash of cars includes a banana with an apple as the driver, a hedgehog with coloured pencils as quills, and a floating fruit salad. Even the Very Hungry Caterpillar, the brainchild of Eric Carle, much admired by Schamp, passes by – fittingly – in a caterpillar truck.

As they wind their way along the roads to the end of the book, readers can turn the book around and upside down, while the story continues in a loop-like fashion all the way back to Otto’s home. Offering a cross-cultural mix of city sights, the book is a charming celebration of city life and the characters who inhabit it.

Schamp’s imagination seems inexhaustible and treats us to rich and varied pictures. ‘Complexly naïve’ is how Schamp sometimes describes his own style. And it is precisely this complex, detailed design that creates the spirit of this wonderful picture book, guaranteed to provide hours of viewing pleasure.