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INKY'S GREAT ESCAPE

Name: INKY'S GREAT ESCAPE
Author: Casey Lyall
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2635-1

THE INCREDIBLE (AND MOSTLY TRUE) STORY OF AN OCTOPUS ESCAPE

by Casey Lyall ; illustrated by Sebastià Serra ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2017

For reading aloud or reading alone, a joyful but misleading re-creation of a fabulous feat.

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A daring cephalopod makes history.

Famed for his many escapes, an octopus named Inky, “retired to the local aquarium,” performs one more to impress his friends. Slithering from his tank and past the other aquarium exhibits, he heads down a drain to the ocean. This fanciful story is based on a true octopus escape from a facility in New Zealand in 2016. Lyall anthropomorphizes her animals, giving her protagonist a propensity for storytelling and motivation for his great escape: a bet from his tank mate, Blotchy. Also, satisfyingly, though not accurately, she suggests that the escape artist occasionally returns to play cards and continue to regale his tank mate with his exploits. The text is set on digitally colored pencil-and-ink drawings, busy spreads showing a range of aquarium wildlife, depicted with large eyes and surprised expressions. There are also visitors and even a keeper, so distracted by the sound from his headphones he doesn’t see the fleeing fugitive. Sadly, the illustrator has perpetuated the cartoon misconception that an octopus has eyes on the top of the sac that is its body, rather than on the head that is the center of a cephalopod. Divya Srinivasan gets it right in a similarly anthropomorphic Octopus Alone (2013).

For reading aloud or reading alone, a joyful but misleading re-creation of a fabulous feat. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4549-2635-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sterling

Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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A SPOONFUL OF FROGS
by Casey Lyall ; illustrated by Vera Brosgol

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THE WORLD NEEDS THE WONDER YOU SEE

by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 2025

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.

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Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.

There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025

ISBN: 9781400247417

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tommy Nelson

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD NEEDS WHO YOU WERE MADE TO BE
by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)