Module 13: Otto's Orange Day

Book Summary

In Otto’s Orange Day, Otto the cat loves the color orange. In fact, it is his favorite color. One day Otto receives an orange package from his Aunt Sally, and inside is a lamp, which his Aunt found in a strange, little store. His Aunt Sally thought Otto would like the lamp because it is the color orange. But when Otto dusts off the lamp, a genie appears, and he grants Otto one wish. Otto wishes that everything in the world was orange. At first, Otto loves it—everything is that bold and beautiful color. But then Otto quickly realizes that there are some problems with his wish. Some food is not very appetizing when it’s orange, like lamb chops; people get into car accidents because all the colors on the stop light are orange; Otto can’t identify his own house because all of the houses are orange. So Otto’s Aunt Sally comes to help. She makes her own wish that everything in the world was not orange. The genie grants her wish, but he makes everything in the world blue instead. Otto realizes the genie just wants someone to do something for him for a change, and so Otto orders the hungry genie a pizza, which would be enjoyed much more if it weren’t all in blue. As a result, the genie changes everything back to normal, and Otto comes to a new appreciation for all different colors, not just orange.

APA Reference of Book

Lynch, J. (2008). Otto’s orange day. New York, NY: RAW Junior, LLC.

Impressions

I did not personally like this graphic novel as much as I enjoyed most of the other books I have read throughout the semester, but I can see where a young child may enjoy it. I thought it was a little silly and ridiculous that the entire book (even if it is a graphic novel for children) would be based on the premise that the main character made a wish to make everything orange. With a goofy situation like this, it seems like this story would be better suited for a picture book format rather than a graphic novel, which often is longer and could use the extra space for plot and character development. Also, the lamp and the genie reminded me of the popular Disney movie Aladdin, a movie in which the genie also gets angry that he does not receive anything, which made me feel like the story itself was not incredibly unique or different.

Also, I thought it was somewhat strange that the text sometimes rhymed. The story did not consistently rhyme, just here and there, but not for any apparent reason. It seemed to rhyme randomly, and it didn’t contribute to the development of the story as far as I could tell, so it seemed unnecessary. It was also interesting that on page 29, when Otto is looking for his orange lamp in his room where everything is still orange, a block of text at the bottom of the page encourages readers to look for the lamp by stating, “Can you help Otto Find the lamp in this clutter?” (Lynch, 2008, p. 29). This could be a clever way to encourage reader interaction and to keep kids engaged with the story, but I think that if this type of reader interaction occurs once, it should occur at least a couple of times throughout the book for the sake of consistency. It felt somewhat odd and out of place the way this “game” is currently incorporated into the story. Lastly, the dialogue felt forced and awkward because at times it was utilized to describe what was happening in the story. For instance, on page 30, Otto says, “Now what will I do? The genie only gave me one wish and I used it. Maybe I’ll ask Aunt Sally Lee for help” (Lynch, 2008, p. 30). The purpose of this dialogue seemed to be that it was trying to explain to the reader what was happening in the story rather than represent something the character might actually say, even if that character is a cat.

Even though I did not enjoy this book very much, I think it could be enjoyed by kids approximately in preschool through 2^nd grade. It is a lighthearted and fun book that new and beginner readers may like. But it may be difficult, however, for beginning readers to understand how to follow the dialogue in the various panels since graphic novels follow a different format that other chapter books, and kids may be unfamiliar with this format as beginning readers. But kids could easily appreciate the goofy situations and simplistic humor, and they likely will be attracted to the bold and expressive cartoon-like illustrations. In fact, both the content and the style of the illustrations remind me of a typical cartoon television show for kids—TV shows that kids typically really like, which makes me think kids will also like this easy-to-read graphic novel with eye-catching illustrations. In addition, the sequential art was varied, and the composition of the pages was different throughout the book, which made the illustrations more interesting to look at and easier to read. The exaggerated facial expressions in the illustrations worked well to communicate the feelings of the characters to readers, like when Otto felt scared and nervous on page 27 (Lynch, 2008, p. 27). Action and movement are also depicted successfully with small but effective lines that were able to show things like chewing, car crashes, and running.

Overall, I appreciate this book’s potential to grab and engage young, reluctant readers who may think reading is not for them. This book demonstrates the wide variety of literature available for children, and it reminds me that graphic novels help youth develop literacy both for the printed word and for images.

Professional Review

According to a review of the book from Kirkus Reviews (2008):

Young Otto loves orange so much that when a sly genie rises up out of an old lamp he receives from Aunt Sally Lee, he uses his one wish to turn all the world that color. His ensuing bliss changes to blues, though, after he gets a gander at his orange lunch and then sees what happens on the street when every traffic light is the same color. Cammuso illustrates comics veteran Lynch’s tale in neatly drawn sequential panels, casting Otto as a cat (marmalade, of course) in human dress and pairing him with a blue, distinctly Disneyesque genie. Discovering that said genie hasn’t eaten in 880 years, Otto cleverly calls on the persuasive power of pizza to reverse the wish, and by the end all’s well. Low on violence and high on production values, this comics-format “Toon Book” will leave emergent readers wishing for more. (para. 1)

Library Uses

Otto’s Orange Day could be made available in a classroom library for children to browse and read during silent reading times. This book could also be used as an example for a class project during which the children create their own comic to understand how text and illustrations interact and reinforce one another. Children can read graphic novels like Otto’s Orange Day and then create their own comic strip. It would be fun to provide orange snacks to children during a program that features this book (like oranges, orange candy, orange juice, etc.).

References

[Review of the book Otto’s Orange Day, by J. Lynch]. (2008, May 1).  

          Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from www.kirkusreviews.com