Otto's Orange Day (Toon Books: Easy-To-Read Comics, Level 3)

Frank Cammuso, who drew Otto’s adventure, lives in Syracuse, New York, where he is the award-winning political cartoonist for the Syracuse Post-Standard. He is the Eisner-nominated creator of Max Hamm Fairy Tale Detective, selected as one of the Top Ten Graphic Novels of 2006 by Booklist, and is at work on Knights of the Lunch Table, a middle school version of King Arthur and his Knights. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Village Voice and Slate.

Jay Lynch, who wrote Otto’s story, was born in Orange, NJ (honest, ORANGE, NJ!). He now lives in upstate New York with his wife, his dog, and way too many cats. He is the founder of Bijou Funnies, one of the first and most important underground comics of the Sixties, and for many years wrote the weekly syndicated comic strip, Phoebe and the Pigeon People. He has helped create some of Topps Chewing Gum’s most popular humor products, such as Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids.

Grade 1-3–Two veteran cartoonists collaborate to create a comic-strip-style book for beginning readers. Otto, an orange cat, receives a mysterious lamp from his aunt. While dusting it off, he releases the genie that resides within and is offered a wish as a reward. Otto declares that he would like everything in the world to be orange, his favorite color; however, after his wish is granted, the results–including a bad-tasting orange lamb chop and an orange-only traffic light that causes car accidents–soon cause him to have second thoughts. With the help of Aunt Sally Lee, Otto outsmarts the genie and sets things right. Each page features one to four panels, and the bulk of the story is told through dialogue balloons. The cartoons are lively and colorful. Clear chapter divisions, a clean graphic design, and large-size print make this title more appropriate for early readers than most comic-book offerings. Still, true beginners may have trouble with some of the vocabulary and struggle to follow the narrative flow. Offer this to book readers with a bit of experience under their belts and an interest in comics and cartoons.–Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
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