Ottoline And The Yellow Cat (Book 1)

You know that funny gap between "picture book" and "actual proper book with chapters and no pictures, gulp"? This is the bridge. Meet Ottoline Brown, Mistress of Disguise, expert mystery solver, and the kind of heroine who sorts her own problems out (mostly), with a small, hairy, endlessly loyal sidekick called Mr Munroe who was once found wild in a Norwegian forest, eating mushrooms. Naturally.

We love it because:

• Chris Riddell's illustrations are on practically every page, so the story never feels like a wall of text to a child who's not quite there yet.
• Ottoline does her own detective work, no waiting for a grown up to sort things out, which is exactly the kind of independent heroine we like to put in front of kids.
• The mystery is genuinely gripping but never scary, so it's safe for bedtime reading without anyone needing the landing light left on.
• Mr Munroe is, frankly, brilliant, and your child will likely ask several follow up questions about Norwegian forests that you won't be able to answer.

What's in the box:

• Ottoline and the Yellow Cat, Book 1 in the series (paperback)
• 176 pages of black and white illustrated story
• By Chris Riddell, published by Pan Macmillan

Great for:

• Children aged 7+ who are building reading confidence and need a few more pictures than the average chapter book offers
• Car journeys, rainy afternoons, bedtime, or anywhere a child needs to disappear into a good puzzle for a while
• Anyone who likes a competent, curious heroine and a sidekick who isn't quite like anyone else's
• A gift for a child who's just started reading proper books and deserves a little fanfare about it

Important to know:

• Paperback, 201 x 130mm
• Black and white illustrations throughout
• Published 24/07/2025, ISBN 9781035067879