The Gentle Giant Octopus - Hardcover

Karen Wallace

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 074452881X ISBN 13: 9780744528817

Publisher: Walker Books Ltd., 1998

Synopsis

Follow a goggle-eyed octopus as she jets through the shadows, tentacles flying behind her. Finally she finds a well-hidden den in which to lay her eggs, which will dangle from the roof like grapes on a string. In silky verse, Karen Wallace explores the mysterious world of the octopus, while Mike Bostock& #8217; s flowing illustrations bring that world vividly to life.

About this title

About the Author:

Karen Wallace was born in Canada, and grew up in a log cabin in Quebec. Her childhood was spent playing in the forests and messing about on the Gatineau River, which in many ways is the source of all her writing. Her books include Bears in the Forest (9780744562729) and Think of an Eel (9781406312027). Mike Bostock was born in Bristol and studied illustration at Bath Academy of Art. His favourite place to read stories is in a deckchair in the garden or on a comfy sofa. He lives in London.

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Walker Books Ltd.
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 074452881X
• ISBN 13: 9780744528817
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 29
• Illustrator: Mike Bostock