When Octopus Mum takes her eight children on a special trip under the sea, the little octopuses have lots of fun. They blow bubbles with parrot fish, dance with shrimp, play hide-and-seek with angelfish, and meet many other sea creatures. A scary eel with pointy teeth gives chase, but the octopuses swim away as quickly as they can, and at last arrive safely at a surprise destination. Playful verse and bright paintings bursting with sea life capture the excitement and wonder of a first outing with Mother, making this a perfect choice for the very young.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Octopus Mum leads her eight little charges out of their cave in this waterlogged outing. Roberts's (Cat Parade) verse is attuned to the needs of a young audience, with plenty of bounce and onomatopoeia ("Blow bubbles with this parrot fish./ Dance with shrimp where grasses swish"). The story line is familiar but well wrought: the octopus clan has a peaceful tour until a mildly scary encounter with an eel sends everyone scurrying for home (intriguingly, in a sunken pirate ship). Unfortunately, the off-kilter palette that served Greenseid so well in When Aunt Lena Did the Rhumba is problematic here. While the minor players (the clown fish, the turtles, etc.) please the eye, the octopuses look like nothing so much as the lining of a person's stomach, and their bulbous forms, popping eyes and goofy grins don't improve matters?they're not creatures many readers would want to cozy up to. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-A cheerful rhyming text records the adventures of Octopus Mum and her brood as they journey to visit Grandma in her sunken-pirate-ship home for armloads of hugs. Jewel-toned acrylics present a brilliant world full of sea life from clown fish to sea fans, all relatively realistic in outline and coloration. The one incongruity is the portrayal of the octopuses. With smiling "mouths" on the tops of their sac-like heads, forward-facing eyes twinkling above, and a complete lack of sucker-discs on their arms, they look rather like a flotilla of pink, eight-tailed tadpoles. Definitely a discordant note in an otherwise pleasant production.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for very young!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Follow Me! (Hardcover)
This book is beautifully illustrated and shows in full color many of the different creatures that you would find in the sea. It offers adventure, infomation and a warm and fuzzy ending!
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