SWING OTTO SWING!
From the Adventures of Otto series
by David Milgrim & illustrated by David Milgrim
Otto the robot continues his adventures, once again slyly transforming the “Dick and Jane” format from clichéd tedium into pure fun for the earliest readers. In this outing, Otto sees Flip and Flop the monkeys frolicking in the trees and decides that he would like to swing, too—with far from salubrious results. The reader sees Otto swing and fall, and then, after each implied impact, sharp-eyed children will see more and more Band-Aids blossom all over the game little robot’s body. From the half-title page to the very last printed page, Milgrim provides clean illustrations, full of movement and with wildly varying perspectives that render words almost unnecessary to the understanding of the narrative. The words that do accompany it are exactly right, most sentences topping out at three words and featuring lots of repetition and sound substitution. The tongue-in-cheek play with familiar tropes will keep adults engaged happily, while children will delight both in Otto’s determination—and his solution—and in their newly realized ability to pluck meaning from print. More, more, more. (Easy reader. 3-6)