THE DEN THAT OCTOPUS BUILT

Octopus makes her home under a ledge near the shore.

Detailing the life and habits of a common octopus, Sonenshine relies on the cumulative rhyme pattern that she used in The Nest That Wren Built (2020). Once again, words and illustrations work together to introduce an intriguing and popular creature; each page ends with the titular phrase. The opening page features the colorful habitat, with the octopus inside her den, barely visible. Subsequent spreads depict the octopus excavating her den, disguising herself as she hunts a crab, evading a hungry seal, guarding her eggs, and blowing her hatchlings out into the ocean. As the book closes, the sole surviving hatchling returns to the seafloor to start another generation. Ink, watercolor, and colored pencil artwork portrays a reef filled with other sea creatures. The text and images are set on paper tinted in a light yellow-green, which complements the blues and greens of this watery environment. The verse—triplets, with pleasing alliteration and internal repetitions of vowel sounds—rhythmically describes what’s going on in each scene, cleverly conveying important octopus facts. Though there are many, many picture books about octopuses, this one will be a particular delight for reading aloud. The backmatter includes further information and an author’s note about the hard-bottom reef off the coast of Georgia that inspired the setting.

A lyrical addition to the oceanic bookshelf.