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PICTURE BOOKS
Meloy, Maile

The Octopus Escapes

40 pp. | Putnam | May, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-9848-1269-8 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-9848-1270-4 $10.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Felicita Sala. This delightful introduction to the problem-solving abilities of one of the most intelligent animals on our planet follows the adventures of a bright-orange cephalopod on his travels from under the ocean, to an aquarium full of curious visitors, and back to his ocean cave again. One day the little octopus comes across a mysterious object--a human's glove--and gets trapped inside. He's taken to an aquarium full of sad sea creatures and food that always comes at the same time and tastes the same. While the text is in the third person, the story is told from the octopus's perspective, with a poignant focus on the sensory experiences he misses from his ocean life. Sala's (Be a Tree!, rev. 5/21) vibrant illustrations bring this small creature to life, with expressive eyes and a plenitude of limbs that sometimes look like they're about to escape the pages of the book itself. No back matter is included, which may disappoint readers who are curious about the real-life escapes that inspired this story. But they'll cheer as the octopus, bright and bold against the gray backdrop of the nighttime aquarium, climbs out of his tank, slips off a pier, and makes his way back to the lively ocean home he's missed so much.
Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

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