Otis

Children's literature favorites Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel and Ferdinand the Bull have a new friend in Otis the tractor. When the farmer brings home a big, shiny yellow tractor and moves Otis out of his stall, it seems Otis will be obsolete and the farm's new little calf will be without his barn-mate. Chris Sorensen is an unobtrusive narrator. His quiet voice and leisurely pace let the farm drama unfold on its own. Choosing crucial moments to accentuate, Sorensen emphasizes an announcement of a calf-judging contest, slows his words as the calf sinks deeper and d-e-e-p-e-r into a pond, and proudly "puff, putts" as the calf and Otis parade through town. Young listeners will enjoy joining the two friends as they contentedly watch the farm from under the apple tree. A.R. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

August 17, 2009
Readers of classic children's books will find traces of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
, Little Toot
and The Story of Ferdinand
in this story of “a friendly little tractor.” Otis the tractor loves to work as much as he loves to play. When he snores in the barn, his “soft putt puff puttedy chuff
” consoles a motherless calf. Otis and the calf become pals, and Long (who reillustrated The Little Engine That Could
) pictures them sitting under a tree in Ferdinand the bull's iconic pose. Yet this idyll cannot last. Otis's owner (no loyal Mike Mulligan) purchases a huge “brand-new yellow tractor” and puts Otis out to pasture, where “the weeds began to cover his tires.” Only when the calf gets stuck in a muddy pond does Otis rev to the rescue. Long fashions Otis's headlamps as eyes and accents the charcoal gray and fawn brown gouache with apple red, buttery yellow and denim blue. Resurrecting stories of sweet machines aiding helpless animals is not easy in an era concerned with fossil fuels and feedlots, but Long's story should inspire readers to revisit old favorites. Ages 3–5.