Gentle Giant Octopus: Read and Wonder (Paperback)

by Karen Wallace (Author), Mike Bostock (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The Giant octopus's tentacles can grow to 150 feet, but in this graceful work the deep-sea creature seems tender and vulnerable. Wallace (previously paired with Bostock for Think of an Eel) uses two types of narrative. Facts are set in wavy lines of text, running concurrently with a story about a mother octopus's gestation, parturition and death. The story brims with poetic turns of phrase: a Wolf eel "darts from the shadows. His teeth strike like daggers. He rips off a tentacle. Then sinks like a nightmare deep into his den." The mother octopus defends herself through escape (shooting backward "by sucking in seawater and pumping it out"), camouflage (turning "very pale or very dark within seconds") and hiding ("Octopuses don't have any bones, and they can squeeze through the tiniest of holes"). Safe in her den, she lays eggs that "hang from the roof like grapes on a string." Bostock's thoughtfully composed watercolors are tactile, accurate and extremely attractive: rubbery tentacles undulate or creep on powerful suction cups; bubble-like babies swim up from their rock-bound nursery, out of which the mother's listless eye peers?their nursery will become her crypt. This seamless weave of text and illustration offers a welcome counterpoint to popular depictions (e.g., Verne's and others) of the octopus as deep-sea villain. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-Brief text and watercolor paintings describe how a female giant octopus moves, protects herself, and lays her eggs. The illustrations have a sense of drama; in one picture, the octopus fills the whole page, her long tentacles flying behind her in the blue-green ocean. At one point, a crab attacks and an eel rips off a tentacle with its daggerlike teeth. Each page has just a few sentences in large print, but they provide a basic introduction to the animal and many interesting facts. Although this book is classified as nonfiction, the information is related as a story. With its striking artwork, it will make an enticing read-aloud for children interested in this fascinating sea creature and for primary-grade science lessons.
Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 1 edition (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076361730X
• ISBN-13: 978-0763617301
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #566,214 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Informative Book, Beautifully Illustrated, January 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Gentle Giant Octopus (Hardcover)

This would interest any child who likes sea creatures. Plenty of facts, poetically worded, and presented in small digestible blocks. The illustrations are beautifully drawn and coloured.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and accurate, October 31, 2007

By	A. C. Shrouf (Santa Rosa, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am thrilled that there is such an accurate book about the life of an Octopus for kids. Nature is not always gentle, which unfortunately other people do not take into account in their review of this book. I love the octopus, and have bought this book for my kids and my nieces and nephews, because it is a book that is informative and wonderfully written.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4th Grade Class Top Ten Winner, May 3, 2008

By	J. Speed "4th Grade Teacher" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The title of this book is the Gentle Giant Octopus. The author of this book is Karen Wallace. The illustrator is Mike Bostock. The genre is true animal story.
The octopus can have 60,000 babies at a time. When a fish bites off a tentacle, the tentacle grows back. The octopus has no bones. It can fit in really small places. Octopi squirt ink to get away from predators.
The main idea of this book is to teach people about octopi. It is also to teach how octopi live and survive in the ocean. It is on our top 10 because our class loves animals. It is a good book to read and to teach people about octopi.