Book excerpt: Otho was born with a pumpkin for a head. And despite what one might think, he was not seen as a curiosity by his family.So begins this brilliantly droll tale of a very unusual boy. Otho loses his pumpkin head-quite literally-when a bat decides it would make a good home. And despite what one might think, this is not the end for Otho, but the beginning of a great adventure. Is Otho's story a parable? A cautionary tale? A celebration of the individual? A head trip? That is something each reader (and Otho) will have to decide. . . . .