SEE SANTA NAP

Milgrim is still on a roll with his clever early reader series featuring Otto the robot and his group of animal buddies. In this fifth entry in the series, Otto and friends are all on an island vacation with Santa, who just wants to kick back and enjoy some rest after passing out all those gifts. As Santa tries to nap, each character uses a new Christmas gift to interrupt the poor tired fellow. Otto finally uses his new fishing rod to save Santa by hooking him by his candy-cane-printed swimsuit and flinging him up into the robot’s tree house for a well-deserved rest. Though Milgrim uses the stereotypical short sentence structures found in lesser beginning readers, in his hands the short strings of repetitive words are hilarious. He also has a deft touch with his humorous illustrations full of quirky characters and slapstick comedy. Though beginning readers will love this latest Otto story, preschoolers and older kids will enjoy it too (as will the grown-ups, who know what it’s like to need a nap after Christmas). (Easy reader. 5-7)