# Why a mentalist wrote five children’s books

Canonical page: https://bobandotto.com/press/

Jesper K. Lassen is a Danish mentalist who wrote and illustrated *Bob & Otto*, five picture books that each tell two stories. Read from the front, a book is Bob’s side of an everyday misunderstanding. Turn it over, and the same words, read in reverse line order, bring his friend Otto’s side into focus.

[Request an interview](mailto:jesper@danishmentalist.com?subject=Interview%20request%20%E2%80%94%20Bob%20%26%20Otto)
[Press kit (PDF, 2.0 MB)](https://bobandotto.com/press/files/bob-and-otto-press-kit.pdf)

[jesper@danishmentalist.com](mailto:jesper@danishmentalist.com) · [+1 650-502-5501](tel:+16505025501)  
Based in Copenhagen · remote interviews anywhere · in-person appearances in the US by arrangement · in English or Danish

## How the books work

Each book is printed once and read twice. Bob’s line is on every left-hand page and Otto’s on every right-hand page, so both boys’ voices are present in both readings. Read from the front cover, it is Bob’s story. Turn the whole book over and read from the back, and it is Otto’s.

Not a word or punctuation mark changes. Only the order of the lines reverses, and with it what they mean. A sparrow sits on every one of Otto’s pages, so a child who can’t read yet always knows whose side they’re on.

### Read from the front

1. I thought that was your answer.
2. I stayed on my half.
3. All the way down the middle—
4. One roof over the two of us.

### Turn it over

1. One roof over the two of us.
2. All the way down the middle—
3. I stayed on my half.
4. I thought that was your answer.

Two facing spreads from *Goodnight, Otto*. The unfinished line "All the way down the middle—" is finished by a different line in each direction: forward, by the roof the boys share; turned over, by the half Otto stayed on. [More on the form and the psychology behind it →](https://bobandotto.com/how-it-works/)

## Interview ideas

1. ### Why a mentalist became a children’s author

   A mentalist’s work depends on what people notice and what they miss. Jesper talks about turning that attention toward children aged four to eight, and why the books hand a child the other side instead of telling them how to feel.
2. ### How perspective changes what we understand

   One sentence, heard halfway, means something else. Using moments from the books (an overheard sentence, a laugh, a silence in a tent), a conversation about how children and adults fill in what they didn’t hear, and the one question that could have changed it.
3. ### A live demonstration, then a conversation

   Jesper reads a book from the front cover, turns it over on air and reads the same pages back as the other boy. Then a conversation about misunderstandings between children: where they start, and how grown-ups can talk about them. Works on camera, on radio and on a podcast.

Based in Copenhagen · remote interviews anywhere · in-person appearances in the US by arrangement · in English or Danish. [Request an interview →](mailto:jesper@danishmentalist.com?subject=Interview%20request%20%E2%80%94%20Bob%20%26%20Otto)

## About Jesper K. Lassen

Jesper K. Lassen, author and illustrator of the Bob & Otto books. Courtesy of Jesper K. Lassen. [Download JPG](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/jesper-k-lassen-author-photo.jpg) · 1536 × 1097 px

### Short bio (54 words)

Jesper K. Lassen is a Danish mentalist, author and illustrator based in Copenhagen. He has given more than 1,000 live performances and has his own documentary series on DR, Denmark’s national broadcaster. He wrote and illustrated *Bob & Otto*, a series of five two-way picture books, and founded VEN Method, a social-emotional learning company.

### Longer bio

Jesper K. Lassen has been on stage since he was seven. As a mentalist he writes and performs his own work, has given more than 1,000 live performances and has his own documentary series on DR, Denmark’s national broadcaster. In his words, his working life “has been about what one person notices and another one misses.”

He wrote and illustrated all five *Bob & Otto* books, published in 2026 by VEN Method in English and, as *Bob y Otto*, in Spanish.

He grew up in Denmark, where his school taught social and emotional skills from an early age. He founded VEN Method (“ven” is Danish for “friend”), a social-emotional learning company whose Connection Protocol is published free for teachers at venmethod.com. He lives in Copenhagen.

### About VEN Method

VEN Method is a social-emotional learning company that builds connection in classrooms and at home. It publishes the *Bob & Otto* picture books and The Connection Protocol, a classroom practice published free in full at venmethod.com. “Ven” is Danish for “friend.” VEN Method is registered in the United States and works with partners in Texas.

## What reviewers have said

> …a thought-provoking, discussion-inducing series that kids and adults alike are sure to enjoy.

Deb Preston, children’s book review of the *Bob & Otto* series, 24 September 2026

Video review: Michelle Marcotte, *Great Books for Kids Reviewed by Michelle Marcotte* (YouTube), 3 October 2026. [Watch on YouTube ↗](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouEIAJVrg70)

Any sponsored or paid coverage listed on this page will be clearly labeled as sponsored.

## The five books

Series
:   *Bob & Otto*, five books (Spanish editions: *Bob y Otto*)

Author and illustrator
:   Jesper K. Lassen

Publisher
:   VEN Method, Texas, USA

Ages
:   4–8. A read-aloud from about four; early readers can read them alone

Published
:   10 September 2026

Paperback
:   $8.99 · 8.5 × 8.5 in · full color · 32–34 pages · in English and Spanish · direct from bobandotto.com/shop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Bookshop.org and bookshops worldwide; trade orders through Ingram

Kindle
:   $2.99, in English and Spanish

Length
:   87 to 132 words per book, one short line per page

| Title | The misunderstanding | Pages | ISBN (paperback) | Spanish edition |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Book 1 *Half a Sentence* | Bob hears half a sentence through a fence, and runs off with it. | 34 | 979-8-9979707-0-3 | *Media frase* · paperback 979-8-9979707-5-8 · Kindle |
| Book 2 *The Laugh* | Bob falls in a puddle and Otto laughs. But who is he laughing at? | 32 | 979-8-9979707-1-0 | *La risa* · paperback 979-8-9979707-6-5 · Kindle |
| Book 3 *Room for Three* | A new girl at school. Bob counts two, and walks away. | 32 | 979-8-9979707-2-7 | *Sitio para tres* · paperback 979-8-9979707-7-2 · Kindle |
| Book 4 *Goodnight, Otto* · Other cover: *Goodnight, Bob* | Two boys in a tent, and a silence each of them reads differently. | 34 | 979-8-9979707-3-4 | *Buenas noches, Otto* · paperback 979-8-9979707-8-9 · Kindle |
| Book 5 *In Otto’s Shoes* · Other cover: *In Bob’s Shoes* | Otto’s new shoes hurt, and Bob can’t tell why. So they swap. | 34 | 979-8-9979707-4-1 | *En los zapatos de Otto* · paperback 979-8-9979707-9-6 · Kindle |

Store links for every edition: [all five books](https://bobandotto.com/books/) · [stores by country](https://bobandotto.com/where-to-buy/) · [direct from the publisher](https://bobandotto.com/shop/) · trade, school and bulk orders: [orders](https://bobandotto.com/orders/).

## Downloads

- [**Press kit** — PDF · 2.0 MB · press release, bios, interview ideas, book details, contact](https://bobandotto.com/press/files/bob-and-otto-press-kit.pdf)
- [**Press release** — PDF · 52 KB](https://bobandotto.com/press/files/bob-and-otto-press-release.pdf) · [Word (.docx) · 11 KB](https://bobandotto.com/press/files/bob-and-otto-press-release.docx)
- [**Everything in one file** — ZIP · 8.7 MB · press kit, release, all images below, captions and credits](https://bobandotto.com/press/files/bob-and-otto-media-kit.zip)

### Author photo

**Jesper K. Lassen** · [Download JPG](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/jesper-k-lassen-author-photo.jpg) · 1536 × 1097 px · Courtesy of Jesper K. Lassen.

### Book covers

***Half a Sentence*** · Book 1 · [Front](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-1-half-a-sentence-front-cover.jpg) · [Back](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-1-half-a-sentence-back-cover.jpg) · JPG 2400 px

***The Laugh*** · Book 2 · [Front](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-2-the-laugh-front-cover.jpg) · [Back](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-2-the-laugh-back-cover.jpg) · JPG 2400 px

***Room for Three*** · Book 3 · [Front](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-3-room-for-three-front-cover.jpg) · [Back](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-3-room-for-three-back-cover.jpg) · JPG 2400 px

***Goodnight, Otto*** · Book 4 · [Front](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-4-goodnight-otto-front-cover.jpg) · [Back (*Goodnight, Bob*)](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-4-goodnight-otto-back-cover.jpg) · JPG 2400 px

***In Otto’s Shoes*** · Book 5 · [Front](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-5-in-ottos-shoes-front-cover.jpg) · [Back (*In Bob’s Shoes*)](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-5-in-ottos-shoes-back-cover.jpg) · JPG 2400 px

### Sample spreads

***Half a Sentence***, spread 4 · [Download JPG](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-1-half-a-sentence-spread-04.jpg) · 3600 × 1800 px

***The Laugh***, spread 5 · [Download JPG](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-2-the-laugh-spread-05.jpg) · 3600 × 1800 px

***Room for Three***, spread 5 · [Download JPG](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-3-room-for-three-spread-05.jpg) · 3600 × 1800 px

***Goodnight, Otto***, spread 4 · [Download JPG](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-4-goodnight-otto-spread-04.jpg) · 3600 × 1800 px

***Goodnight, Otto***, spread 5 · [Download JPG](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-4-goodnight-otto-spread-05.jpg) · 3600 × 1800 px

***In Otto’s Shoes***, spread 6 · [Download JPG](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-5-in-ottos-shoes-spread-06.jpg) · 3600 × 1800 px

### Characters and logo

**Bob** · [PNG, transparent](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-character-bob.png)

**Otto** · [PNG, transparent](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-character-otto.png)

**Anna (in Room for Three)** · [PNG, transparent](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-character-anna.png)

**The sparrow, on every one of Otto’s pages** · [PNG, transparent](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/bob-and-otto-character-sparrow.png)

**VEN Method logo** · [SVG](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/ven-method-logo-colour.svg) · [PNG](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/ven-method-logo-colour.png) · [dark](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/ven-method-logo-dark.png) · [white](https://bobandotto.com/press/img/ven-method-logo-white.png)

**Credit:** Art © 2026 VEN Method. Illustration: Jesper K. Lassen. Author photo: Courtesy of Jesper K. Lassen. These images and texts may be used for editorial coverage of the *Bob & Otto* books and their author. Please credit as shown, and don’t crop the covers or alter the artwork. Captions for every image are in the ZIP file.

## Press release

### Danish mentalist Jesper K. Lassen publishes Bob & Otto, five picture books that tell two stories in one

Read from the front, each book is one friend’s side of an everyday misunderstanding. Turn it over, and the same words, read in reverse line order, tell the other friend’s side.

**COPENHAGEN, Denmark, October 2026** — Jesper K. Lassen, a Danish mentalist with more than 1,000 live performances and his own documentary series on DR, Denmark’s national broadcaster, has written and illustrated *Bob & Otto*, a series of five picture books for children aged four to eight, published by VEN Method.

Each book is printed once and read twice. Read from the front cover, it is Bob’s side of a small misunderstanding between two best friends. Turn the book over and read the same pages from the back, and it is Otto’s side. Not a word or punctuation mark changes; only the order of the lines reverses. Both boys speak on every spread, Bob on the left-hand page and Otto on the right, so both voices are present in both readings. A sparrow sits on every one of Otto’s pages, so a child who can’t read yet always knows whose side they are on.

“The child isn’t told to see the other side. They hold it,” Lassen told children’s book reviewer Deb Preston in a September interview. “Letting them choose a starting cover is already practicing perspective.”

The five misunderstandings are ones children meet every week: a sentence overheard through a fence (*Half a Sentence*), a laugh that might be at you (*The Laugh*), a best friend with someone new (*Room for Three*), a silence in a tent at night (*Goodnight, Otto*) and a hurt you can’t see from the outside (*In Otto’s Shoes*). Neither boy is the villain. Each book uses fewer than 135 words.

The text of each book is a reverso, or reverse poem, a form introduced by the poet Marilyn Singer, in which the same lines read in reverse order say something different. *Bob & Otto* writes it as a duet between two characters and builds the reversal into the book itself.

Of the first book he wrote, *Half a Sentence*, Lassen said: “That pattern is painfully familiar. I can see myself in it. Childhood misunderstandings, and the adult ones too, where we react to a fragment and miss the rest.”

In her review, Preston called the books “a thought-provoking, discussion-inducing series that kids and adults alike are sure to enjoy.” Michelle Marcotte reviewed the series on her YouTube channel, *Great Books for Kids Reviewed by Michelle Marcotte*.

The books are available in paperback ($8.99) in English and, as *Bob y Otto*, in Spanish: direct from bobandotto.com, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart and Bookshop.org, and from bookshops worldwide through Ingram, by ISBN. Both languages are also on Kindle ($2.99). Lassen is available for remote interviews and, by arrangement, for in-person appearances in the United States.

### About Jesper K. Lassen

Jesper K. Lassen is a Danish mentalist, author and illustrator based in Copenhagen. He has given more than 1,000 live performances and has his own documentary series on DR, Denmark’s national broadcaster. He wrote and illustrated *Bob & Otto*, a series of five two-way picture books, and founded VEN Method, a social-emotional learning company.

### About VEN Method

VEN Method is a social-emotional learning company that builds connection in classrooms and at home. It publishes the *Bob & Otto* picture books and The Connection Protocol, a classroom practice published free in full at venmethod.com. “Ven” is Danish for “friend.” VEN Method is registered in the United States and works with partners in Texas.

### Media contact

Jesper K. Lassen · [jesper@danishmentalist.com](mailto:jesper@danishmentalist.com) · +1 650-502-5501 · bobandotto.com/press

###

## Request an interview

For interviews, guest appearances, review copies and images, write or call Jesper directly.

[Email jesper@danishmentalist.com](mailto:jesper@danishmentalist.com?subject=Interview%20request%20%E2%80%94%20Bob%20%26%20Otto)
[Call +1 650-502-5501](tel:+16505025501)

Based in Copenhagen · remote interviews anywhere · in-person appearances in the US by arrangement · in English or Danish.

VEN Method on social media[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@venmethod "YouTube")