Aw, I guess Otis Spofford is alright. This is another book that I have clear memories of reading when I was a kid, but I'm not sure where it fits in in today's society. In this follow-up to Ellen Tebbits, we get to know the troublemaker in Ellen's class, Otis Spofford. Surprisingly - and this is the genius of Beverly Cleary - I actually got to feel sorry for Otis. On the one hand, he purposely went looking for trouble - though he called it "excitement". He knew he was misbehaving, and he wanted to see how far he could push Ellen and his teacher, Mrs. Gitler. And, he didn't care whose toes he stepped on in order to get what he wanted. On the other hand, we don't know where his father is, but we know he lives in a small apartment with his busy working mother who doesn't seem to have much time for him. He has his "pals" in school, but they aren't really "friends"; Otis doesn't ever consider George or Stewy's feelings when he goes about his search for excitement, and they egg him on in his bad behavior, never having to face the consequences of Otis's actions. Most striking to me, as an adult reader, is how Otis's bad behavior in school was disciplined in school, and his mother was never informed of his antics. I wonder if that was really the case in the 1950's - that school was considered a much more separate institution from home. These days, when many schools have a climate of hyper-awareness when it comes to bullying, it seems like Otis's mother would be frequently called into school to meet with the teacher or the principal or a child psychologist. Anyway, in the end, there's a solid lesson about standing up for yourself against bullies, but even though Otis got his "come-uppance", I'm not really sure there was any real resolution for him. I find myself wishing there was a sequel to this book, to find out how Otis might have been made to shape up for real. Maybe it would have involved some big brotherly treatment from someone like Hack Battleson, the football player Otis looked up to.
"Boys and girls in readers were always dopes. They were always polite and they never used slang and they hardly ever did anything they shouldn't...Dopes!" —Otis Spofford, P. 140 This quote encapsulates a lot of the impetus behind Beverly Cleary's amusing story, "Otis Spofford". The common theme that binds together most of these stories (the book is written more as a series of companion anecdotes rather than as one complete narrative) is that Otis is looking to stir up some excitement, and it is at those times that comedic mischief is right around the corner. The plot itself held my interest and is amusing, but what I really take from this book as its most valuable commodity is the full introduction to the splendid original that is Otis Spofford. Having seen him at times during Beverly Cleary's previous book, "Ellen Tebbits", I knew something of what to expect from Otis, but this book fleshes out his motives and thought processes in much greater detail. I completely enjoyed spending time in the company of this true original in the mold of such memorable characters as James Howe's Joe Bunch, John D. Fitzgerald's Great Brain (aka Tom Fitzgerald), and Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl Callaway. I didn't agree with the way that Louis Darling drew Otis Spofford in the interior illustrations, but I was truly enamored of the way that John Scribner rendered Otis on the cover (I think it was John Scribner, but the signed name at the bottom of the picture isn't entirely easy to discern. It's the same illustrator that created the cover picture for the book "Ellen Tebbits"). So, I basically ignored the drawings inside the book and pictured Otis as he appears on the cover. By the way, Otis Spofford has really nice shoes, with those glow-in-the-dark laces. "Otis Spofford" is a good book that I hope always stays in print.
What do You think about Otis Spofford (2008)?
Otis Spofford is the "bad boy" in the neighborhood. His mother is a single parent, the ballet teacher of the town, and is not home much. He first appeared in Ellen Tebbits, where he was fond of tormenting Ellen.In this volume he gets his own story and is introduced like this: "There was nothing Otis Spofford liked better than stirring up a little excitement." He proceeds to stir up trouble at school and in the neighborhood but always weasels his way out. He clearly is in need of attention.Eventually he meets his match when one of Ellen's friends gets her to stand up to him. (Otis has been chasing Ellen on the way to school and indulging in other torments.) Ellen gets him good and he pays a mighty price, but in the end the balance of power shifts only a small amount.The book left me feeling uneasy. In one way it was true to its times, because kids mainly had to work out their troubles with each other on their own in those days. These days with the huge amount of attention on bullying, Otis looks unrealistically innocent. But Cleary does present an example of how to fight back.
—Judy
In the sequel to "Ellen Tebbits" we get to meet Otis, the bully who makes her life so miserable.Only he's not really mean. Just bored. Today he'd be diagnosed with who knows what (probably ADHD at the very least. And probably be medicated. Sent to counseling. Something.) But you need to read in perspective of the times, which explains how the kids are really left to sort things out among themselves and the adults interfere only occasionally. Punishment in school is creative and perfect. The whol
—Kristine Pratt
