Tolerance and friendship are at the heart of this picturebook which is written and illustrated by newcomer Maisie Paradise Shearing with charm and panache. Anna and Otis are best of friends: Anna is a little girl, a real character with her inky black bob, red shorts and yellow lace up boots; just as distinctive, Otis is a snake, sunshine yellow with bright red markings. Delightfully, despite their very different forms, they seem to mirror one another as they move, a lovely emphasis on their closeness. Otis is worried when Anna decides on a trip into town – he’s noticed that other people find him alarming, but Anna’s determination and his own efforts win him lots of friends. This is great fun to read while the illustrations, original, idiosyncratic and full of vitality, make Anna and Otis unforgettable.
Will people ever learn to accept a snake as a friend? Anna and Otis the snake are great friends and they love having fun together. But Otis knows people are scared of snakes, so he usually just plays at home or in the garden. He is nervous when Anna suggests a new adventure. At first people are afraid, and Otis feels he isn't welcome in the town. But Anna encourages Otis not to give up, and it soon turns out that maybe snakes aren't as scary as people thought! The hairdresser enjoys shampooing a reptile for a change, and at the skate shop Sally has a lot of fun fitting Otis with his own set of awesome wheels.
Anna and Otis is a hugely endearing, very funny story about overcoming fears and making friends from Bologna International Illustration Award-winning illustrator Maisie Paradise Shearring. Full of endless rich details to spot, Maisie's artwork is a treat to pore over.
Maisie Paradise Shearring studied illustration at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating with a First in 2013. She went on to gain a Distinction in her MA from Cambridge School of Art in Children's Book Illustration. She has been mentored by Nick Sharratt, and won the International Award for Illustration at the Bologna Children's Book Fair for her illustrated depiction of her mother's school days. Anna and Otis is her first self-authored picture book.
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