Otis (Junior Library Guild Selection (Voyager Books))

Have you ever felt like the only neat pig in a messy pig family? Meet Otis--he's the one who keeps score on the sidelines or counts buttercups while his brothers and sisters romp in the swamps. Staying pig-pink and mud-free isn't easy, however--particularly since it keeps him from playing mud games with his peers. One day, Otis's sterile stance is challenged when he encounters a frog, crying softly because he lost his favorite ball in a mud puddle. Is it possible that the swamp-dwelling amphibian despises mud as much as Otis? In an impressive display of cross-species teamwork, they manage to rescue the ball without getting dirty--and instantly become best, mud-free friends. Janie Bynum's fun, cartoonish illustrations (also seen in the buoyant Altoona Baboona) add life and humor to this "birds of feather flock together" tale with a happy ending. Kids will be comforted to know that they're bound to find someone, sometime, who understands. (Preschool to age 6) --Karin Snelson