An Otis Christmas

Locations
Call Number: Kids Book / Holidays / Christmas / Long, Loren
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Kids Holidays 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Holidays / Christmas / Long, Loren	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Storage Kids 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Holidays / Christmas / Long, Loren	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Storage Kids 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Holidays / Christmas / Long, Loren	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Storage Kids 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Holidays / Christmas / Long, Loren	4-week checkout	On Shelf

On Christmas Eve at the farm, a horse faces complications while delivering her foal and Otis the tractor must race through snowy, treacherous woods to bring back Doc Baker before it is too late.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

School Library Journal Review
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Summary / Annotation
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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Kind of a Bummer submitted by Meginator on August 27, 2022, 6:06pm Content Note: This book describes (and depicts, but not graphically so) a horse that is near death. Certain readers might want to tread with caution.
This picture book follows a farm tractor on Christmas Eve, as he finds himself to be the last line of defense between a horse, her foal, and probable death. This is unusually weighty subject matter for a picture book aimed at a young audience, but the story itself is familiar enough that it leaves little doubt what will happen. Along with the depth of the potential peril, I struggled with the disconnect between the fairly realistic plot setup and the fact that Otis is a sentient tractor in a world where animals cannot talk and trucks are driven by farmhands; the inconsistency is distracting and pulled my attention away from the story. The book does include some nice opportunities for read-aloud sound-making, but readers with particularly gentle spirits may be too worried about the poor horse to forge ahead with brave Otis even though the book’s format more or less telegraphs its ending for any experienced readers.