Otto is a lumbering, sweet-natured elephant who can't forget his childhood chum Georgie, a smiley-faced chimpanzee who was abducted and shipped away from their forest home by the mysterious and sinister Man with the Wooden Nose. Accompanied by a wisecracking but protective parrot named Crackers, Otto decides to hop a plane and look for Georgie in America. But once they hit the wild streets of the concrete jungle, Otto and Crackers court trouble at every turn --- even becoming unwittingly involved in the seedy alligator underworld dominating the city sewers. And little do these out-of-place out-oftowners realize that they, too, are being doggedly pursued across the city --- by the local police! Will the authorities catch Otto and Crackers? Will Otto and Crackers find Georgie? Who is the Man with the Wooden Nose? And what's an elephant doing sporting a trenchcoat and fedora?
Bill Slavin brings his trademark humour and lively illustrations to this lighthearted romp.
Drawn in a colorful cartoon style, with plenty of corny jokes and visual gags, this is a gentle, humorous adventure that children should enjoy.
Not for every reader, but fans of comics reminiscent of simpler times will certainly enjoy this.
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Otto the elephant just can’t stop thinking about his long-lost friend, George, a chimp who was snatched from the jungle by a mysterious man with a wooden nose. So Otto and his parrot pal, Crackers, set off for America in search of his childhood friend. From the moment they tumble out of the baggage-claim area at a big city airport, trouble seems to be all these two can find. Book One in the series.
Source: The Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Best Books for Kids & Teens. Fall, 2012.