Interview with Loren Long

KN: Thanks so much for letting me interview you. I love the fact that the main character of this book, Otis, is a tractor. On your website there’s a great video of you riding a tractor. As a child, did you have a special attachment to a tractor or long to read a book about a tractor?

LL: Of course as a little boy, anything that has wheels and moves is attractive...tricycle, bicycle, skateboard, roller skates, motorcycle, go cart, cars, trucks, planes and yes... tractors. I've always liked tractors...especially the old ones that just seem like a large farm animal in a way. A tractor's shape is different than a truck or a car. It is slim and other than it's wheels, it stands there like a metal horse. And I like to think of them as dinosaurs roaming the farm. Ancient in a way (at least the old ones) but these "dinosaurs" have never really become extinct. A great number of the old tractors are still useful to the farmer and still have a place as a viable farm implement. I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky surrounded by beautiful horse farms. I never lived on a farm but I worked on a horse farm during the summers while going to college in Lexington and the University of Kentucky. It was then while working on the horse farm as a college kid, that I got to drive a tractor for the first time. And it was one of the old ones that they just used to pull wagons from here to there or to pull a wagon while we were bailing hay.

Certainly, all of the above, inspired and informed my interest in creating Otis.

KN: The primary colors pop out of the monochromatic background. Why did you choose red for Otis instead of yellow or blue?

LL: I ended up using red for Otis after experimenting with a combination of many other colors. I don't always go to this extreme while planning my artwork, but for a character like Otis, I knew his colors would be very important to his overall personality. I tried a lot of colors that I felt had a vintage feel...like a light pale blue or a light aquamarine bluish green color. I tried all cream and all red and then I thought the two toned solution looked neat (sometimes it comes down to what simply looks "neat"). I wanted Otis to have an identity all his own so I tried to keep him different and unique from tractors of today.

KN: The tender friendship between Otis and The Little Calf makes this book a joy to read, yet both characters are at different stages in their lives. Is the friendship in the book inspired by a personal relationship?

LL: I wanted to focus on that tender friendship between the two characters but did not specifically attempt to make a statement about age or even gender. The theme of age is apparent as Otis gets replaced by a newer, larger tractor. Otis proves his value in many different ways...not only as a worker on the farm but as a valued friend to the farm in general and especially to that little calf, who does not care if Otis is a tractor or a different species of any kind. Otis is a warm, unassuming friend.

KN: The whimsical scenes of Otis and The Little Calf are not only fun, they foreshadow the solution to the problem. Did you know from the beginning how Otis would solve the problem or did the solution become obvious as the story moved along?

LL: Thanks, those scenes are certainly meant for fun. And they also help to establish the friendship and bond between Otis and the little calf. And yes, they set up the unique way Otis saves the day. I did not know how Otis would solve the problem until I got into writing the story and it became evident to me that I needed that unique solution to set Otis apart as the hero. It was at that point, that I added the "ring-around-the rosie" game.

KN: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?

LL: I'd like everyone to notice that Otis is a friendly tractor to everyone. He likes to play...but he also likes to work!

KN: Thanks again for your time. I really appreciate it.

LL: Thank you. All the best.

KN: Teachers check out Loren Long’s website at www.lorenlong.com for great OTIS worksheets.

OTIS

By Loren Long
Publisher: Philomel Books
978-0-399-25248-8

FROM THE FLAP: Otis is a special tractor. He loves his farm and farmer. He particularly loves the little calf in the next stall, whom he purrs to sleep with his soft motor. The two become great friends, romping in the fields, leaping bales of hay and playing ring-around-the rosy by Mud Pond.

But when the big yellow tractor comes to the farm and replaces Otis, he is cast away to rust behind the barn until the little calf gets stuck in Mud Pond. Then there is only one tractor(and it’s not big or yellow) who saves the day. It’s little Otis!

Artist Loren Long has created an unforgettable story and a truly unforgettable character.

CHARACTER SEQUENCE (Verbal/Linguistic)

Assign students the character roles of Otis, the little calf, the farmhands, the yellow tractor, the fire chief, and the fire truck. It is helpful if you have signs with a picture of each character to give to the students. Ask the students to tell you what little calf’s problem is. Have the little calf stand in the "mud." Ask who came first to help the calf? Then, have the farmhands stand next to the calf. Repeat the activity until you reach Otis. If you repeat the activity once or twice, every student will get at least one turn.

MIRROR MOVEMENT (Kinesthetic and Interpersonal)

This activity builds student confidence, strengthens community, and helps get rid of the jitters. Better yet you can do it during transition time. The little calf mirrors Otis’s movements. Ask one of your students to pretend to be Otis. This student will move a part of his or her body and all of the other students will mirror his or her movement. Switch leaders often.

PERSONIFICATION ART (Visual/Spatial)

Loren Long highlights his personified character by juxtaposing primary colors with a monochromatic background. Give students brown, black, or gray construction paper and white chalk. Ask the children to draw a landscape with white chalk. Then, they can choose a primary chalk color and personify a vehicle. Check out the Book Buddies section for more books with personified vehicles.

ROPE TUG MATH (Logical/Mathematical)

Gather students on the rug and give each student a whiteboard or clipboard to record addition problems. Tie a long rope onto a large object and tell the kids to pretend the object is the calf. Have a small number of students/farmhands come and hold the rope. Then ask more students to come and hold the rope. How many students tried to pull the calf out of Mud Pond? If you’re working on subtraction, start with the larger number or students and have some of them leave the scene.

TRACTOR SONGS (Musical)

Check out the book John Deere: Crazy About Tractors Songs and sing them with your class. This url lets you listen to song previews: http://www.amazon.com/John-Deere-Crazy-About-Tractor/dp/B002LB6EMY

BOOK BUDDIES

-John Deere: Crazy About Tractors Songs by John Deere
-Dinotrux by Chris Gall
-I’m Dirty by Kate and Jim McMullan
-I Stink by Kate and Jim McMullan
-The Three Little Rigs by David Gordon