SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

June 26, 2014 by Michael May

Review: Otto’s Backwards Day

June 26, 2014 by Michael May   Leave a Comment

Otto’s Backwards Day
By Frank Cammuso, with Jay Lynch
TOON Books; $12.95

Everyone struggles with selfishness. At least, I imagine that all good people do and that anyone who doesn’t has probably just given in to it. Maybe it says more about me than about other people, but I have a hard time believing that anyone is just naturally selfless. For one thing, I’ve known too many kids.

Don’t get me wrong; I love kids. But paragons of putting other people first they are not, and so – like the rest of us – they sometimes need reminding that they’re not the only important person in the room. That’s why books like Otto’s Backwards Day are so welcome, especially when they’re as entertaining, adorable, and non-didactic as this one is.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

I first came across Frank Cammuso’s work with his wonderful, not-quite-for-kids comic, Max Hamm: Fairy Tale Detective. It’s a noir detective series set in the land of fairy tales and Mother Goose with one of the three pigs as a detective. It’s great for older kids, but the mixing of children’s characters with booze and bullets may make parents think twice before pulling it out as bedtime reading. Otto’s Backwards Day reminds me of Max Hamm in its combination of cute art and engaging themes, but being published by TOON, it’s not only appropriate for younger readers, it’s primarily aimed at them. That it’s also a lot of fun for adults is a bonus.

Backwards Day continues the adventures of Otto the cat from Otto’s Orange Day and begins with Otto as excited for his birthday as any kid. But he goes too far for his parents when he wants to start celebrating a day early, without any guests. “Who needs family and friends when I have the important things?”—by which he means cake and presents. His father sternly informs Otto that he has things backwards, and Otto learns the truth of it when someone steals his party stuff and escapes into a neighboring professor’s lab and its gateway to the Backwards World.

With a shape-changing robot named Toot as an ally, Otto pursues the thief into the Backwards World to rescue his party and maybe learn a little about what’s really important. Keeping the adventure from becoming preachy are lots of gags like how the citizens of Backwards World leave litter on the ground and wear their underpants on the outside. Readers also learn about palindromes, with Toot pointing out that his and Otto’s names are examples, and that all of Toot’s shapes—like the race car and the kayak—are too. There’s a lot to keep readers engaged, and grown-ups will giggle as much as their kids.

And they may learn as much, too.

Filed under: Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Frank CammusoJay LynchOttoToon Books

About Michael May

Michael May has been writing about comics for a little over a decade. He started as a reviewer for Comic World News and soon became editor-in-chief of the site. Leaving editorial duties to focus on writing, he joined The Great Curve, the comics blog that eventually became Blog@Newsarama and finally Comic Book Resources' Robot 6. In addition to loving comics, he loves his son and enjoys nothing more than finding (and writing about) awesome comics for the boy to read.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

February 2023

The Archie Encyclopedia | Review

by Michael May

January 2023

Monkey Prince Vol. 1: Enter the Monkey | Review

by Michael May

January 2023

Young Agatha Christie | Review

by Michael May

January 2023

Andy Warner's Oddball Histories: Pests and Pets | Review

by Michael May

January 2023

My Sister, the Cat, vol. 1 | Review

by Michael May

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn Podcast

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Jump Into this Guest Post by Shadra Strickland About Her Latest Book: Jump In!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

The Archie Encyclopedia | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

What’s Coming in 2023, A Feedback Poll, and Goodbye for Now…

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

A Coming of Age Quartet, a guest post by Krystal Marquis

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

A Starter Manga Set: 15 Titles for Children and Tweens

12 Graphic Novel Series Updates for Young Readers

Nonfiction Graphic Novels Spotlight Microhistories and Overlooked Historical Figures

9 Adult Graphic Novels for Teens: Sophisticated Takes on History, Humor, Sci-Fi, and More

Be Afraid (but not too afraid): Graphic novel horror for middle grade readers

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023