The Adventures of Otto: Go, Otto, Go!

Justification

Go, Otto, Go! is an easy reader book that is a Kirkus Reviews Starred book. This book is also a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book. This easy reader novel is part of a series of books about a small robot named Otto.

Evaluation

Go, Otto, Go! is a short easy reader book about a young robot named Otto. In this series of books, Otto the robot crash landed on earth and ends up making friends and going on adventures. In this specific book, Otto decides to build a backpack rocket to get back to see his family. The plot thickens as Otto’s rocket does not work as planned. When his rocket takes him everywhere but space, he finally realizes as he crash lands that he is home with his friends. This short plot serves as a reminder that home is where you make it.

Otto is a believable character, even if he is a robot with elephants and monkeys as friends. Otto is a young robot who loves and misses his robot family, as shown in an illustration of Otto looking at a family picture and staring into the stars. Everyone who reads this book can identify wanting to be loved and to be with family. What Otto does not understand at the beginning of this book, is that he already has a different family although they are not robots, who love and care for him.

Because this is an easy reader, there are few words and much repetition to make patterns for beginning readers. This makes the illustrations even more important. David Milgram uses a sketch type drawing to illustrate the adventures of Otto. The illustrations are full of color and easy to understand. The illustrations move the story and plot along seamlessly. They add things to the story that the words cannot. An example of this is when Otto’s rocket misfires and takes him from the desert full of cacti and tortoises to an artic location teeming with penguins.

Conclusion

Go, Otto, Go! is recommended for emerging readers everywhere. This book is easy to understand with patterns perfect for new readers. The story is short but fun. This book and the other adventures of Otto are great reading practice as well as heartwarming bedtime story that your child can read to you!

Citation

Milgrim, D. (2016). The adventures of Otto: Go, Otto, go! Simon Spotlight.