Customer Reviews

I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean!

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my favorite children's book.

It's so much fun to read aloud. And there's just something silly and fun about an octopus say "I'M THE BEST. ARTIST. IN THE OCEAN" The Octopus lends himself nicely to voices, there's plenty to talk about: different ways of painting, making a mess, perspective...


Don't be turned off by the straight-laced spoil-sport who gave it two stars. This is a great book.

I mean, look at the cover. That's a funny mustache.

Unlike many of the other reviewers, neither my daughter nor I had read I'm The Biggest Thing in the Ocean when she dragged this book off the library shelf one day. As a result, I can't comment on how it compares to its predecessor, but I can say that my daughter is crazy about this book. Just loves it. She asks for it when she wakes up, multiple times throughout the day, and every night before bed. "Shark!" she says, asking for another reading. When we're not actually reading it, she still enjoys recounting the plot in her own way: "Paint! Shark! Stop! MESS." Clearly, this book has connected with her, and she is deeply fond of it.

For my part, I can't say it's my favorite book ever, but it's painless enough for repeated reading, and the illustrations are charming. There's something endearing about that giant blue squid, especially when the shark chastises him for his mess, and we see him standing (swimming?) there temporarily speechless, his mouth agape. It's hard not to feel a little sympathy. And I did enjoy seeing his "mess-terpiece" at the end, along with the notes regarding what inspired it. Whether or not it compares favorably to I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean, for our part, it holds its own nicely.

The giant squid is hysterical. The first book is better with inferencing skills, but you can do a lot with this one as well. Pair with other ocean books and ask lots of higher order questions..

-Could he really paint underwater?
-What could he use for paint? (Octopus ink:))
-Why is he quiet when the shark goes by? (First book)
-Would all these animals live in the same ocean areas in real life?
-Do squids have mustaches?

We have a "potty basket" of books to keep busy for potty training (TMI?)-this was one of my children's favorites!

I loved I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean. It works beautifully as a read aloud, and both children and adults appreciate its humor.
I wish I could say the same thing about I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean. It sadly suffers from the same problem so many sequels do, relying too heavily on the structure and humor of the original. In this case, it falls flat, particularly the ending, which younger children will not comprehend without the explanation of an adult. I really wish the author had stopped while he was ahead.