Frank Cammuso.  Otto’s Orange Day.  Illustrated by Jay Lynch.   RAW Junior, 2008.  40 pages.  Age 4 to 8.

You’ve got to love Toon Books for bringing the love of comics to a young audience.  Because they’re written for emerging readers, plot and language are simple and straightforward, but they also introduce the literary elements of panels and speech bubbles.  Geeks say yay!

Otto’s Orange Day has three acts, or “chapters.” ^[1]  First, the indroduction:  we meet Otto and his love of orange; he meets a genie, and wishes for everything to be orange.  Second, the conflict:  Otto realizes his mistake (orange lamb chops?  orange hued traffic lights?) and calls Aunt Sally Lee for help.  Third, the resolution:  a lack of specificity turns the world blue briefly, but a pizza delivery saves the day, as it often does.  Cute, fun, simple story.

James Kochalka.  Johnny Boo, Volume 1:  The Best Little Ghost in the World.  Top Shelf, 2008.  40 pages.  Age 4 to 8.

You look at Johnny Boo, you see his fabulous hair and his gleeful expression, and you can’t help but think how cute he is.  You open the book, you see his even smaller ghost pal Squiggle, and you are so overwhelmed by cuteness of his “squiggle power” that rainbows spew from your orifices.  The book’s cuteness factor waxes just shy of saccarine.  They meet the ice cream monster (that’s his hand on the cover) and it’s all fun and games until someone get ingested.  Bodily functions save the day, but you’ll have to read the book to find out which one(s)!

While that’s easily the most disturbing review I’ve ever written, it was a book that both girls and I enjoyed and recommend.

^[1]  More suitably expressed using “air quotes.”