Octopus Acrobatics

by Sue Fliess, Gareth Lucas (Illustrator)

Overview

Master of disguise. Skilled escape artist. Behold the wondrous octopus!

Though octopuses live in every ocean and along every US coast, you may never catch a glimpse of one in the wild. All 300 species, from the tiny wolfi octopus to the enormous Pacific octopus, can camouflage themselves by changing color, pattern, and texture. Some octopuses are also capable of regenerating limbs, surviving on land for short periods of time, and fitting through impossibly small spaces!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807558188
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	03/07/2024
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sue Fliess is the award-winning, bestselling author of more than fifty children's books including Cicada Symphony, The Earth Gives More, and the Kid Scientist series. Her books have been named to notable lists and translated into multiple languages. Sue lives in Northern Virginia.

Gareth Lucas is an illustrator and designer living in Essex, England. He studied at Brighton and Central Saint Martin’s Art Schools, and since graduating he has worked as a full-time artist, illustrating many well-loved books—all with the natural world at their center. Gareth combines digital processes with a colorful palette and a charming style to produce work that is joyful and exuberant.

Editorial Reviews

"Eye-catching and intriguing.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2023-12-16
“Clever, strange, and marvelous, / behold, the wondrous octopus!”

In this attractive title, rhyming couplets, set against vibrant illustrations and supplemented with additional information in a smaller font, introduce a fascinating, seemingly alien species. Acrobats indeed, these cephalopods perform remarkable twists and turns. Close-ups often extend fully across a double-page spread. Fliess’ narrative covers far more than astonishing acrobatics. She describes habitats, body shapes, sizes, and special features; nocturnal habits and defense mechanisms that both help them hunt and avoid becoming prey; and tool use, cognition, and reproduction. The couplets read awkwardly, at times straining to tell the story. Some readers may balk at the statement “octopuses have two rectangular eyes,” given that it’s the pupil, not the entire eye, that’s round (though an accompanying illustration depicts a rectangular pupil). Specific species, such as the giant Pacific octopus, are mentioned. Lucas’ digitally created artwork shows off the octopuses’ amazing agility. Simplified shapes, vivid colors, and subtle background patterning are used to wonderful effect to portray these creatures, both outside and in. This title is similar in form and content to Suzanne Slade’s Behold the Octopus! (2023), illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez, which reads more smoothly and would be the better choice if readers can buy only one.

Eye-catching and intriguing. (glossary, labeled drawing, author’s notes, further reading) (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews