OTTO GROWS DOWN

A rash wish turns a boy into a little Benjamin Button. Six-year-old Otto sighs and suffers through the birthday party of his one-year-old sister, Anna. His parents have given her his favorite rattle; when they ask him to blow out Anna’s candles and make a wish, he does: that Anna was never born! Uh-oh—everything starts going backwards. At kindergarten, Otto wipes paints off a canvas and goes up a slide. On Tuesday, he brings in the garbage; he takes a bath when he’s clean. And the toilet...don’t ask. Otto’s in a panic. He gets younger and younger. Suddenly it’s his first birthday, mother shakes his rattle and that gives him an idea. The deadpan drollery of Magoon’s cartoon-style illustrations should appeal to adults as well as children, matching the quirkiness of Sussman’s premise. Otto’s demonstrative lack of enthusiasm as he shakes his rattle for Anna is flat-out hilarious, and his growing consternation as he begins to live his life backward comes across loud and clear. Genuine issue gracefully handled. (Picture book. 4-7)