So sweet!
Otto is a squirrel happily living on his own when an unexpected visitor arrives on his doorstep. After several days, the mother of the mysterious creature ‘Pio’ has not been found and Otto begins to open up to the idea of having Pio stay. It is beautifully illustrated and just a delight!

5 stars
Very sweet story about a squirrel who finds an egg (?) in front of his tree home one morning. The object eventually “hatches” and out comes a little creature. All the little creature can say is “Pio”. Otto takes the creature into his home to protect him from the eagle, but rapidly decides he needs to find Pio’s mother as Pio is rapidly growing.
Otto searches everywhere for Pio’s mother without success. Pio continues to grow which makes the situation more and more difficult because he no longer “fits” Otto’s spaces. A heartwarming ending.
The illustrations are perfect and it’s a lovely little story.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher, Princeton Architectural Press, for the opportunity to read this ARC.

One morning while Otto the squirrel is leaving his home in the big old tree, in the very old forest, he stumbles upon a strange green ball. He finds it rather odd, steps over it, and continues on with his day. Hours later when he returns the ball it is still there. Whatever can it be?

Later that afternoon the ball mysteriously cracks open and a weird furry creature's head emerges. Curiosity overtakes Otto and out he goes to check on this new arrival.

"MOMMY!" cried the little creature." No, no, no!" said the squirrel. He is hopeful that the little thing's mother will surely come back and retrieve her baby. Evening comes and the baby creature is still unclaimed. This tugs at Otto's heart and he decides to bring the it inside his home and tomorrow he will go on a mission to find the absent mother. He tucks the baby in his hammock and discovers the only word the little one can utter is "Pio!" so that becomes its name.

In the morning Pio has grown exponentially larger. Otto is more determined now to locate the missing parent and he begins hanging posters around the forest and visits other forest creatures to see if they have any knowledge of the abandoned green ball or might have seen who deposited the ball in his tree. Unfortunately no luck!

More days pass and the critter grows and grows and grows... outgrowing the hammock and finally Otto's home. Oh my whatever shall Otto do? He needs a solution to his huge problem but is there one? Will the furry creature find its mother or will Otto be stuck with it forever? He stomps out of his home hoping to come up with an answer. But can he?

The pencil-and-watercolour illustrations are detailed and beautifully done. This heartwarming tale is about hospitality, inclusiveness, caring, friendship, adoption and family. Love is on tap, and both Otto and Pio form a very special bond between the two. I highly recommend this book.

I loved the picture book about a squirrel who finds an unlikely friend on his door step. Otto wakes up to find a green ball that eventually hatches into a then small creature. Otto is in search of the creatures mother, but the creature is happy with Otto and this starts an unlikely friendship. Cute story and lovely illustrations.

Otto the squirrel lives by himself in his tidy little tree house, until one day an egg is found outside his door. He doesn't pay too much attention to it until it cracks open and a furry, white creature emerges. Where did this creature come from? Otto realizes he needs to find the creature's mother quickly, but no matter what he does, he can't seem to locate her. He decides to take the creature in and care for it, but things become increasingly difficult.

This is such a heartwarming story. Even though we couldn't figure out what this furry white creature named Pio was, it was fun for the kids to imagine. Otto shows such warmth and kindness, but questions how he can care for this creature who just keeps getting bigger and bigger. The ending is a reminder that home is where you hang your hat and that the definition of family is always love, regardless of who it is.

The artwork is simple, yet beautiful. We fell in love with all the illustrations. This is a perfect book for young readers and would be wonderful as a read-aloud in a group setting.

5*****

This was such a sweet book. We enjoyed the art style, and the premise was cute - though I was a little concerned for the little (and then not quite so) animal's mother. Where was she? Was she heartbroken her baby was off building a family with a squirrel?

This is a sweet story of an unlikely friendship that is created when Otto the squirrel finds an egg outside his home. When it hatches he finds a little fella that he names Pio. Otto feeds him and cares for the furry little friend, but quickly Pio outgrows Otto’s home so Otto tries to find Pio’s mother. I couldn’t figure out what type of animal Pio was, but the story and illustrations were very charming.
Thank you to Princeton Architectural Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy! It will feature on my blog Thursday December 6, 2018.
www.colecampfireblog.com
LanaLCole@yahoo.com

ARC Copy...cute and funny of a squirrel and...what looks like Yeti. I love how the squirrel is caring towards the strange thing even when the strange creature is slowly getting bigger!

I have yet to encounter a Marianne Dubuc title that I don't fall just a little bit in love with. There's something extra soothing about her folksy art and sweet stories, where even when things go wrong, they don't go *too* wrong. In this book, Otto the fox wakes up one morning to discover a furry little creature called Pio on his doorstep. What can Otto do but look after the little fellow until they find his mother?

Except his mother doesn't appear, and Pio gets bigger and bigger... so big, in fact, that Otto thinks he might have to leave home. In his agitated dash out of the house, Otto doesn't stop to think about the eagle that has been circling the woods. Will Otto make it to his new home - or back to his old one? You'll have to read the book to find out.

(As someone with a giant-breed dog, I also related to Otto's magnifying horror as his houseguest just gets larger... and larger... and larger... and doesn't seem to ever stop growing!!)

Dubuc's illustrations and story were charming! Otto is a squirrel who lives alone in a tree, and one day finds a green egg. Out of that egg came Pio, a white creature who thinks Otto is his mother. While waiting days and days for the creature's mother to return or be found, Otto cares for Pio, who grows every day. Otto takes care of Pio, and it is Pio who ends up saving the day. This was a wonderful story about friendship, trust, and life.

Thank you NetGalley and Princeton Architectural Press for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.