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.

Meteorological Moments

For those whose livelihood depends on the weather; farmers, fishermen, builders of bridges, roadways and homes, or airlines, railroads and other forms of transportation (to name a few) accurate forecasts are vital.  Some rely on generations of folklore, observations of the natural world, to predict daily, weekly, seasonal or yearly shifts in patterns.  The National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, depends on the expertise of climatologists and meteorologists, highly technical equipment and computer programming in order to provide the best, most up-to-date and extended weather information.

Having lost count of the number of times

Red sky at night, sailor's delight
Red sky in morning, sailor's warning

has been uttered in my presence and having witnessed the veracity of this lore, I've often wondered if there is a scientific basis for these occurrences.  Author Kathleen V. Kudlinski and illustrator Sebastia Serra answer this question among many others in Boy, Were We Wrong About the Weather! (Dial Books For Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, July 7, 2015).   Let's go back to 1500 B.C.

Long, long ago, before people knew anything about the weather, even mighty Sumerian warriors were frightened by wild storms. 

They were certain their weather god, Enlil, was in a bad mood.  It was thought dancing might make him happier.  Today there is a scientific explanation for lightning and thunder involving jumping water droplets inside a cloud.  Spanish explorers took home the beliefs of the Taino Indians as to the cause of the killer storms they encountered.  If only those who ridiculed their frightening tales knew the truth of hurricanes.

A learned scholar in Greece taught the four elements, earth, air, wind and fire, as the cause of weather.  Now we know the sun, land forms, natural disasters and human transformation of the land figure prominently in forecasting.  You will be surprised to know how he did play a part in naming the science of weather.

Not dragonflies but water and dust can foretell a storm.  A drop in air pressure, indicating a shift in weather, measured by a barometer works best.  The ancient belief of the weather being generated all the way to the stars we now know to be untrue.  Our atmosphere only goes so high.

Climate changes have happened over the course of thousands of years in the past.  Today, people's lifestyle choices are speeding up the process at an alarming rate.  Global warming is generating uncommon weather worldwide.  Scientists will continue to collect, monitor and dispense gathered data to understand weather.


By presenting weather first in a historical context, Kathleen V. Kudlinski sets the stage for using her title phrase as a connection to disclosing the truth as we know it today.  She seeks to introduce the most interesting points about the past and explanations of the present.  Of particular interest is her opening the discussion about current climate change and global warming in light of those events in the past. Her sentences are conversational and easily understood by the intended audience. Here is another sample passage.

People have never liked being surprised by the weather.  So they searched for ways to predict it in advance.  The ancient Chinese thought that if a dragonfly was seen flying up and down instead of sideways, it meant rain was coming.
Boy, were they wrong! 


Rendered in pencil and computer graphics Sebastia Serra begins our weather journey by combining the past with the present on the matching dust jacket and book case.  This illustration crosses the spine to continue on the back to the left.  It's a wild storm with funneling winds off the coast of a community from the past.  As then yields to now, the wild weather gives way to a sunny day.  The prominent shade of blue on the jacket and case is used on both the opening and closing endpapers.  The barometer held by the girl on the front is shown in better detail on the title page.

With a page turn Serra takes readers through the four seasons on the verso and dedication pages.  As on the jacket and case his use of vibrant colors with animated characters, human and animal, supplies us with lively images.  Most of his visuals cover two pages.  At times he chooses to place a smaller picture within the larger whole.  There are some single page pictures, edge to edge or framed in white, assisting readers in pausing during the narrative.

His images are brimming with details creating entire worlds or a specific moment, altering our perspective as the text dictates.  Your eyes go to the image, read the text, and then go back to examine the story told in the illustration.  Humor appears when you least expect it.

One of my favorite pictures is of the classroom engaged in listening to a presentation about the water cycle.  The arrangement of the desks, the decor, the diversity of the students and the blend of a chalk board with a computer screen is in sync with the text.  The student with a stop watch, timing the seconds between lightning and thunder during the storm, shows a high level of interest.  This classroom exemplifies the entire book, lively and informative.


Boy, Were We Wrong About the Weather! written by Kathleen V. Kudlinski with illustrations by Sebastia Serra is a science book with high appeal to all readers.  Everyone who reads this will leave knowing something new.  It entertains, explains and invites us to explore more about our weather and climate.  At the conclusion of the book a time line is listed along with two websites for gathering more information.

To become acquainted with Kathleen V. Kudlinski and Sebastia Serra please follow the links embedded in their names to access their respective websites.


I truly enjoy adding my blog post to the list of others at Kid Lit Frenzy each week.  I continue to be thankful to educator Alyson Beecher for hosting the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.  Make sure you check out some of the other titles.  There are some outstanding recommendations this week.