A Titan-Type Of Tale

Tales told from generation to generation take on a life of their own.  They are embedded in familial traditions.  They are the threads binding all the members into a single woven tapestry.  Most, upon examination, are based on truth or the possibility of truth.  They are universal with respect to taking what seems to be ordinary and having it transform into something wondrous.

This shift is the power of storytelling, enveloping all who listen.  Octopus Stew (Holiday House, August 17, 2019) written and illustrated by Eric Velasquez is a story brimming with anticipation as soon as you look at the jacket and case.  Each page turn heightens the readers' awareness of something fantastical about to happen.

When Grandma saw my painting of Super Octo, she got the idea to make pulpo guisado, octopus stew---not exactly my favorite dish.

A small question asked by the boy, Ramsey, was quickly rebuffed by his determined grandmother.  Later he had to relinquish his superhero cape to accompany her to the store to purchase an octopus for the stew.  He took lots of pictures of the fish on display.  His grandmother bought the largest octopus.

As they proceeded to the cashier, Ramsey tried to tell his grandmother an important fact he located online about octopuses, using his phone.  She was not interested.  At home Grandma prepared the octopus, putting it in a pot to boil.  Ramsey avoided the entire process.

Later when Grandma came to join Ramsey in the living room, the duo heard weird sounds from the direction of the kitchen.  The noises grew louder and louder.  When Ramsey and his grandmother stood in the doorway to the kitchen, they were shocked by the sight which greeted them.  The octopus was enormous.  It was outside the pot.  It was alive!

Hiding and thinking with speed reserved for heroes, Ramsey put on his cape (and one on his perro), raced to the kitchen, held forth an object and made a loud demand to the octopus holding his grandmother.  At this point the tale takes one of two surprising twists.  Each conclusion relies on the reader's capacity for stepping into the unexpected with their eyes wide open.


As soon as the story starts, the personalities of Ramsey and Grandma are revealed through the narrative and their dialogue.  This technique, of blending text and conversation, used by author Eric Velasquez enhances the intimacy of the story for readers.  Using a mix of Spanish and English plus sound effect selections takes readers farther into the experiences of the boy and his grandparent.  Careful choice of words builds the suspense readers feel until they are faced with not one, but two, startling revelations.  Here is a passage.

Then Grandma came to sit with me while I did my
homework.  All of a sudden, strange noises started to
come from the kitchen.
Blimp, Blump, Brr, Blimp, Blump, Brr.
"Que sera eso? What could that be?" Grandma 
asked.  "Ramsey, quedate aqui.  Voy a ver. Stay here."


One look at the front of the matching dust jacket and book case and readers know they are in for an amazing adventure.  Chana, Ramsey's dog, Ramsey, and Grandma are astounded by the sight before them.  Hints of what they are seeing are behind them like steam on the blue canvas.  Grandma's arm and open hand held in front of Ramsey for protection are a sign of her affection for him.

To the left, on the back, on a lighter shade of blue, rows of fish, as seen at the market, are arranged along the bottom. On the opening and closing endpapers Eric Velasquez has placed a bright yellow background.  Vertical rows of white circular shapes like those found on an octopus are shown.

These illustrations rendered

in oil on Fabriano 300 lb. hot press watercolor paper

are rich and realistic.  Bold full-color images, highly animated, are spread across double pages or on single pages framed in a white border.  At times to enhance the pacing two smaller pictures are included on a single page.  For a highly dramatic effect a large, nearly full-page picture is laid on a double-page visual.  At a turning point in the narrative a wonderful, four-page gatefold will leave readers gasping.  The facial expressions on the characters heighten every moment and mood.  You'll find yourself completely captured by their story.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations spans two pages.  On the right-hand side Ramsey is leaning out from behind his grandma.  His dog is leaning to the left of and behind him.  Grandma is standing, legs spread apart with one hand to her heart and mouth wide open in the doorway to the kitchen.  On either side of the doorway are the bright yellow walls of the kitchen.  The refrigerator is on the far left.  The floor is a rusty red tile.  Stretching from the top on the right to the far left are two gigantic octopus legs with the huge suckers visible.  A large

Thump!

is above one leg as it strikes the refrigerator.  The lid to the pot is on the floor.


From the minute you look at this book, you know you're about to enter into something marvelous.  Octopus Stew written and illustrated by Eric Velasquez is the best kind of storytelling, leading you into the extraordinary with two stunning twists.  Oh, this book is a superb title for sharing repeatedly, one-on-one or with a group.  I highly recommend it.  At the close of the book is a splendid author's note and a glossary of non-standard Spanish Eric Velasquez says was spoken in his home. 

To learn more about Eric Velasquez and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  Eric Velasquez has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  You can learn more about Eric Velasquez in an interview at the Center for the Collaborative Classroom. A poster is available to download at the publisher's website.   At another publisher's website you can view interior images.  School Library Journal interviews Eric Velasquez during a Facebook live event about this book.

From The Sea

When you get into the groove of a daily routine, you usually fail to notice some worthy sights in the scenery of your world.  We tend to focus our thoughts on the past or the upcoming future instead of living in the present. We also are not looking for anything out of the ordinary.

We would never expect to see a giraffe loping along the side of the road in the northern Michigan woods.  It would be a rare happening to see an alligator strolling down the street in Times Square, New York City.  The debut children's book of author Lucy Branam with illustrations by Brazilian artist Rogerio Coelho, Roof Octopus (Sleeping Bear Press, March 1, 2018), is a marvelous, imaginative exploration in the unexpected.

It started with a tap at the window that woke Nora up.  Out she looked and there it sat.

It was not a pigeon.  It was not a bald eagle.  It could not fly.  It was not anything anyone would normally see on the roof of an apartment building in the middle of a city.  It was a HUGE octopus!

She rushed into the kitchen to tell her parents.  At first they did not believe her but then a tentacle came into view outside the window.  Down at street level all the neighbors and Nora's family were looking up and offering a variety of opinions as to the reasoning behind an octopus occupying the apartment building roof.

Nora, unlike the others, befriended the octopus.  It's liked Nora too.  Ignoring the octopus did not cause it to leave.  It was there all day and all night.  It started to help the neighbors with their daily chores.

The thing it did which the children loved the most was when a tentacle would curve in the air and provide them with a swing.  One day, filled with joy and affection for the octopus, Nora asked it to come to her school for a visit on the following Friday.  Can you wonder how she felt when it said yes? Can you understand how shocked she was when the octopus was gone the next day?  Would she ever see the roof dweller again?


There is nothing so welcoming to readers as the beginning of a narrative which quickly leads them to a stunning situation. Author Lucy Branam does this with complete ease taking us into the story with her realistic descriptions and perfectly normal dialogue.  Readers will readily identify with Nora's acceptance of an octopus on her apartment roof.  Adults will knowingly nod at the adult characters' assessments of the current state of affairs.  Here is a passage.

Nora cleared her throat.  "Excuse me, there's an octopus on our apartment."

Her father stopped pouring batter and looked out the 
window. "An octopus ON our apartment?"

Her mother looked out too.  "I don't see anything."  Then a 
tentacle dropped down from above and wrapped itself
around the fire escape railing.


If you don't gasp when you look at the matching opened dust jacket and book case, you're not looking closely enough to the intricate artwork and excellent design and layout.  The placement of the other buildings, the arches in the windows on Nora's apartment building, the curled tentacles on the octopus and the crescent moon all contribute to a glorious first look at this book.

To the left, on the back, on dark blue is an interior image.  It's a more panoramic view of the building with the octopus on the roof.  The neighbors are attempting to ignore it.  The opening and closing endpapers are a pristine white.  On a white background the text on the title page is a shade of purple.  Beneath the words are a row of rooftops in a variety of colors with the sun touching the tops, giving them a glow.  On the book's final page those buildings continue along the bottom.  Above them is the publication information.  There are three tentacles curled down from the top.

All of the illustrations span two pages.  Readers will stop at every page turn, astonished at all the tiny elements in each image replete with elaborate details.  Everything inside and outside the apartment building is colorful, reflecting a beautiful and stylistic architecture.  Rogerio Coelho alters his perspective giving us a more far-reaching view and then bringing us close to the characters.  Both of these approaches bring us deeper into the story.

There is a special uniqueness to the shapes of the people heads and their facial features.  It does not detract but enhances the narrative.  Rogerio Coelho presents us with people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.  It enriches the telling of this tale.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when the octopus stays on top of the apartment roof all day and all night when it first appears.  Rogerio Coelho gives us a bird's eye view of the cityscape with the buildings, streets and cars.  Birds glide through the air during the day on the left.  At night the crescent moon hangs in the sky on the right.  Nora's apartment building begins in the middle of the page on the left, crosses the gutter and continues about a third of the way on the right.  The octopus is sitting on roof, covering it completely with tentacles dropping over the edges and curling.  With a smile on its face the octopus is sleeping.  The colors shift from left to right from day to night.  It's a very clever way to portray the passage of time.


There won't be a single child reader who will not believe this story is the absolute truth.  They have a gift of suspending reality in the best possible manner. (And adults will wish it would happen, too.)  Roof Octopus written by Lucy Branam with illustrations by Rogerio Coelho is sheer delight.  At the very least you'll be checking your roof more often.  And you will be much more aware of living in the moment.  Otherwise you might miss something extraordinary.  You will want to have a copy of this on both your professional and personal bookshelves.


To learn more about Lucy Branam and Rogerio Coelho and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their website and blog respectively.  Lucy maintains an Instagram account. Rogerio Coelho has several interior images on his blog.  At the publisher's website you can view the first eight pages.  Lucy Branam is interviewed at Chapter 16, a community of Tennessee writers, readers & passersby.

The Call Of The Sea

No matter how much we study and learn, they will continue to astound us, some more than others.  We think we know, given a certain set of circumstances, how they will act. With each feat, our admiration grows for members of the animal kingdom.

In 2016 an octopus residing in the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier, New Zealand decided it was time for a change of scenery.  Inky's Great Escape: The Incredible (And Mostly True) Story Of An Octopus Escape (Sterling Children's Books, November 7, 2017) written by Casey Lyall with illustrations by Sebastia Serra proposes an account of this clever getaway.  This octopus knew his capabilities, saw an opportunity and traded captivity for freedom.

Inky was the greatest escape octopus of all time.  He'd slithered his way out of every trap invented and lived to tell the tale.

All these escapes had taken their toll, so when fishermen caught him one day; he decided to go with the flow.  He ended up staying with another octopus named Blotchy at an aquarium.  Their days and nights were filled with fun and games and plenty of stories. 

Having lived in the aquarium for as long as he could remember, Blotchy found Inky's accounts of daring deeds a bit hard to believe.  One quiet evening when they were alone, Blotchy issued a challenge.  Inky accepted it with confidence, declaring it would be his best escapade ever.

A plan was designed by the masterful Inky.  As time passed Blotchy teased him, saying he was all talk and no action but Inky knew waiting was integral to the success of the operation.  An aquarium worker finally provided a sliver of possibility.

Using all his mental and physical skills, the eight-armed creature crept from the confines of both his tank and the building.  A trail told the tale of the triumphant avenue toward the open water.  Inky did indeed make history but a mystery remains. 


Using a marvelous blend of fact and fiction author Casey Lyall recounts an adventure to remember.  She provides a potential introduction and conclusion to the famous news headlines, answering questions readers might have about the escape artist and his tank mate.  Humor is interjected in the form of the games they played, hide-and-seek, charades and Crazy Eights, and the subtle mention of the bookshelves Blotchy maintains.

The conversations between Inky and Blotchy clearly indicate their different personality traits.  Her description of the magnificent disappearing act will have readers on the edge of their collective seats.  Here are sample passages.

Inky's limbs swirled as he hauled himself
along the tiles.  He forged ahead while the
"Incredible Idea for an Ingenious Escape"
unfolded perfectly.

All the creatures in the
aquarium had their sights
set on Inky.  They watched
his every move, hardly
daring to blow a bubble. 


The color palette used in the matching, opened dust jacket and book case will have readers grinning in pleasure.  The flora and fauna of the world in the aquarium invite them to reach for their closest reference books on residences of octopuses.  By placing the broken chains on either side of Inky, we know he is a one-of-a-kind octopus.  To the left, on the back in an extension of the scene on the right, Blotchy looks with respect and affection at a poster declaring:

INKY
THE GREATEST ESCAPE
OCTOPUS
OF ALL TIME.

Readers will love the raised elements and use of foil.

In shades of blue and green, ocean creatures swim on the different opening and closing endpapers.  In the first one, Inky is moving off the right edge.  In the final endpapers, the poster announcing Inky's accomplishments is set among coral and seaweed as the animals gather to read it.  The verso and title pages are a continuation of the opening endpapers with Inky leaving a trail of bubbles from left to right as he appears under the title text smiling up at the words.

Rendered in pencil and ink and then digitally colored the bright, spirited illustrations by Sebastia Serra span two pages.  To indicate the passage of time or separate incidents other smaller images are placed within the larger context.  Sebastia Serra alters his perspectives bringing us close to Inky and Blotchy and then giving us a larger view of the tanks within the aquarium.  This brings the story into our space.  His attention to details welcomes readers to pause at page turns.

One of my many favorite pictures is when Inky has taken advantage of the aquarium worker's mistake.  Most of his body is on top of the tank; a few arms are still in the water.  Inky is looking back at Blotchy and asking the octopus to come with him.  Oblivious to what is happening, the worker walks away to the right wearing headphones and carrying a ladder.  The fish in the tank next to Inky and Blotchy, on the right, are all pointing upward and watching the event.  The aquarium is dark except for two overhead lights shining on particular portions of the tanks.  Tiny explanatory signs are posted in front of each tank window. 


Inky's Great Escape: The Incredible (And Mostly True) Story of An Octopus Escape written by Casey Lyall with illustrations by Sebastia Serra vividly brings to life for the intended audience (and those of us lucky enough to read it aloud) a story of opportunity, patience and possibilities.  It highlights the truth, heightens our desire for more information and illuminates the power of inventiveness in readers and the author and illustrator.  Your professional and personal collections need to make space for this title.

To learn more about both Casey Lyall and Sebastia Serra and their other work, please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  The cover reveal for this title with a short Q & A with the illustrator and author appears at This Picture Book Life.  Here is a link to one of many accounts of Inky's real life escape as noted by NPR.

More Than Meets The Eye

Life experiences teach us people are rarely as first impressions would indicate but instead they are the sum of multiple influences, layer upon layer.  We may think we fully understand someone but often they surprise us.  Certain situations reveal their true character.

Like people Mother Earth has given advantages, many initially unseen, to her living beings which in turn assist them in survival.  The most beautiful can be deadly to predators.  The frailest can become fierce in the face of danger.  Poor Little Guy (Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC, June 7, 2016) written and illustrated by Elanna Allen takes us deep into the sea.  When you are the smallest of the small, it's a frightening place.

The story starts without words as a tiny, unassuming, spectacle-wearing yellow fish approaches certain peril.  A watchful eye on a beast is larger than the tiny swimmer.  As the fish glides in front of and past the white giant fear fills every fiber of his body.

Passing unharmed he utters a sigh of relief.  What he doesn't know is the long arm of an octopus is reaching toward him.  Oh, no!  He's been captured!

The behemoth begins to sing sarcastic phrases taunting the little guy; who will surely be his next meal. As each is uttered the clever colossal creature forms a variety of corresponding shapes around its victim.  Bringing him close to his mouth, he opens wide and places the terrified teeny being inside.

YIKES!  What happens next is too startling to reveal. No one will be more astounded than readers.  Mother Nature does not disappoint.


The lack of text on the first two double-page images followed by a single word on the next three pictures creates absolute perfection in timing and suspense.  Elanna Allen then displays a keen sense of humor with her creative word play.  The tension builds supplying a most excellent atmosphere for the shocking shift in the narrative.  Here are two of her sentences used to intimidate the tiny, unassuming, spectacle-wearing yellow fish.

Catch of the Day!

Let's play the LOST IN A MAZE game!


Both the back and the front of the matching dust jacket and book case, two different images, prepare readers for the alarming situation the fish encounters.  To the left he anxiously peers upward, surrounded by swirling portions of octopus arms.  The opening and closing endpapers feature eleven sea creatures determined to consume the little guy as an entree or munchie.  There is a significant contrast in the two which cannot be disclosed as each begins and concludes the tale.

Using a limited color palette, pale green, white, black, yellow, brown, blue and purple, Elanna Allen visually enhances the text in a series of double-pictures and two single page illustrations rendered in pencil and ink with digital color (And lots of coffee).  The verso and title pages continue the narrative as started on the opening endpapers with the tiny fish looking worried as he glances backward.

She increases the sense of foreboding with varying points of view drawing us close to the action as when all we see is water, two large eyes in a white face with the fish swimming in front and then moving away to give us a more wide-angle perspective when the octopus is whirling in the center of the page tossing the fish from one arm to the other.  When she wants to intensify her text there is a drastic shift from one image to the next.  Her font size also mirrors exact moments.  The use of eyeglasses on the fish is a smart choice, elevating the expressions in his eyes.

One of my favorite illustrations is when the arm of the octopus extends toward the little guy.  Reaching from the left side, large and menacing, it moves across the gutter to the right arching above the tiny fish.  He is swimming toward the lower right-hand corner with his eyes closed.  A single word is placed above his head in a speech bubble.

Phew.


Poor Little Guy written by Elanna Allen is one of those books readers are going to read repeatedly even when they know the ending.  The combination of text and images is so astutely crafted the irony will not diminish.  When read aloud, be prepared for gasps and giggles.

To learn more about Elanna Allen and her other work follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Follow this link for seven pages of fun-filled activities.  Enjoy the book trailer.