(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: The Adventures of Otto series. "See Otto feel sad. // No... Wait..." Twice, robot Otto gets his hopes up when he sees a friend approaching (offering a hug, then a pie). Twice, he's disappointed that he's not the intended recipient. Then Pip appears with a kite, and Otto prepares himself for rejection. Surprise! Pip wants to play with Otto! In this ninth entry in the series (Swing, Otto, Swing!, etc.), the spare, easy-to-decode text and cheery uncluttered illustrations satisfyingly convey Otto's emotional lows and eventual high.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) K-3 Ready-to-Read: The Adventures of Otto series. After watching bird Tweet fly, mouse Pip becomes inspired to try it. Several page-turns (and much fruitless flapping) later, robot friend Otto comes up with a clever remote-control drone solution that allows Pip's dreams to take flight. This latest series entry's extremely limited vocabulary provides effective new-reader support, the comic timing is spot-on in the repetition and pacing, and the clean illustrations are both understated and hilarious.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: The Adventures of Zip series. Space alien Zip zaps things out of his magic hat, hoping to impress (diaper-wearing) alien Bip. When Zip's zaps get out of control, Bip comes to the rescue. Front matter previews words found in the text, highlighting word families, sight words, and bonus words. Back matter asks comprehension questions. With one to two sentences per page and easily decipherable illustrations, this book is easy for beginning readers to tackle independently.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) PS "Do you ever feel... / ...as stubborn as a mule? / Or as chicken / as a chicken?" Cartoony illustrations show costumed children embodying the temperaments of the animals to which they're compared. This mind-expanding premise is tailor-made for a picture book format. The sight of kids mid-howl, mid-roar, etc., is hilarious, especially when their elders get in on it.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS "Some monsters are afraid. / Some are not." Page by page, Milgrim lists contrasting quirks and habits of monsters. However, they are all "absolutely, positively, completely, perfectly wonderful... / just the way they are!" The message is a familiar one, but it is reassuring for even the littlest children. Drawn boldly and brightly, these monsters are more adorable and wacky than frightening.

Reviewer: Jill Leibowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2013

(2) PS First on Eddie's "checklist for getting ready all by myself"? "Wake up," of course, but it's Eddie who's waking his parents--with a megaphone. "Wash up" (scuba mask required) is followed by "get dressed" (cape and underwear-on-head helmet). Eddie's proud determination is economically conveyed in Milgrim's simple cartoon drawings. Kids for whom the morning routine is a chore will enjoy Eddie's antics.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2011

(2) K-3 Nicholas Duck's pesky younger siblings horn in on his job collecting wish lists for Santa. The siblings get carried away, promising unrealistic gifts to everyone, but when Nicholas steps in to lecture them on the true meaning of Christmas, he's the one who learns the lesson. As in Santa Duck, the digitally produced cartoon-style illustrations feature speech balloons and lively humor.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2010

(3) K-3 Upbeat cartoon illustrations feature a boy as he grows from infancy to childhood absorbing experiences, learning from others, enjoying freedom to make his own mistakes, and expanding his world. The lighthearted rhyming text is short and addressed directly to the boy, but it speaks to all children.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) PS Tongue-in-cheek Dick-and-Jane-style sentences chart "Baby" hitting various developmental markers (talking, walking, etc.) over the years. The joke is that by book's end, he's no baby ("See Baby go to school...See Mommy and Daddy cry like two babies"). As much for clingy parents as for kids, this witty offering features cartoony illustrations whose figural simplicity suggests a child's hand.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Amelia grabs a camcorder, rounds up her little brother and family pets, and gets to work making a movie. The rhyming text goes through all the steps in production: "Make the costumes, / Feed the crew / Fix the lights, / And makeup too." At the living room premiere the audience goes wild. Digital cartoon illustrations capture funny character quirks. Glos.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(2) K-3 Nicholas Duck finds a red coat and hat on his doorstep. He puts them on, and everyone mistakes him for Santa. Nicholas finds the real Santa and passes on the other animals' wishes but forgets to tell Santa what he wants. Milgrim employs speech balloons in his spare digital ink and oil pastel cartoons, infusing humor and deftly revealing personality.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2008

(2) K-3 "The other day, I woke up on the wrong planet," the young narrator begins. Á la The Wizard of Oz, our hero just wants to go home. Young readers will figure out long before Monty that it's all a vivid dream, giving them a knowing edge. Cheerful cartoon illustrations indulge completely in the offbeat while retaining a simplicity of shape and composition.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2007

(2) K-3 Ready-to-Read series. This easy reader of the very simplest order nevertheless contains humor, suspense, and a satisfying narrative arc. In the latest entry in the adventures of Otto, the endearing space robot's monkey friends try to teach him to swing on a vine--with multiple-bandage-requiring results. Spacious pictures invest the innocuous text with irony, slapstick, even a bit of mystery.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2004

(2) K-3 Ready-to-Read: The Adventures of Otto series. The simplest of easy-reader texts ("Give, Santa, give"), accompanied by action-packed illustrations, relates Otto the space robot's latest adventure. The animals so love their new presents (drum, squirt gun, football) that Santa, lounging on the beach, can't get any rest. But dependable Otto comes to the rescue, and, soon enough, we "see Santa nap." Ho, ho, ho. See readers laugh.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2004

(4) PS "Thank you for sending me, Mom." A little girl sets off to buy whipping cream for her family's Thanksgiving dessert. She systematically thanks each thing she encounters, from warm boots to animal friends. Milgrim's cozy lavenders and pinks contrast nicely with the crisp snow and cartoon-looking characters rendered in digital oil pastel. Toddlers may enjoy the text's singsong repetition.

Reviewer: Amanda Sullivan

(3) K-3 Pip the mouse wants robot Otto's balloon. Because Pip is so light, the balloon floats away with him. A bee pops the balloon, and with Pip plummeting toward Earth, Otto mounts a daring, semi-successful rescue. Using a thick black line, Milgrim deftly illustrates this simple and amusing story for beginning readers.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) PS A boy and his dog cavort through the day, illustrating a series of brief and often clever pairs of opposites. To demonstrate "Lucky's loud," the dog is pictured barking; to demonstrate "Lucky's quiet," he is still barking--but his owner (also the narrator) is wearing headphones. The spare illustrations, which appear childlike and quickly rendered, capture the classic friendship between boy and dog.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read series. Boring old Dick and Jane have been replaced with a funny robot and his animal friends in these simplest of beginning readers. With chunky shapes and heavy black outline, the personable illustrations provide a lively embellishment for text that at times is just one repeated word, ("Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk") but still manages to tell a coherent, entertaining story.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read series. Boring old Dick and Jane have been replaced with a funny robot and his animal friends in these simplest of beginning readers. With chunky shapes and heavy black outline, the personable illustrations provide a lively embellishment for text that at times is just one repeated word, ("Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk") but still manages to tell a coherent, entertaining story.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann