The Octopus Escapes

by Maile Meloy, Felicita Sala (Illustrator)

Overview

From a New York Times bestselling author comes this poignant, lyrical tale about nature's great escape artist—now in a board book edition!

The octopus is happy in his undersea cave until one day, a diver captures him and takes him to live in an aquarium. The humans give him food and tests that look like toys. But every day is the same, and the octopus soon tires of captive life. And so, under the cover of darkness, he makes his daring escape...

Maile Meloy and Felicita Sala bring us a story full of excitement and heart, about the thrill of hard-won freedom and the pull of home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781984812698
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/11/2021
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	675,301
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD500L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Maile Meloy is the bestselling author of a middle-grade trilogy: The Apothecary, which won the E. B. White Read-Aloud Award and the California Book Awards Gold Medal; The Apprentices; and The After-Room. She also writes short stories, essays, and novels for adults. She grew up in Montana and lives in Los Angeles. Visit her online at mailemeloy.com.

Felicita Sala received Italy's Premio Andersen for her work illustrating many books for children, including She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lynn Fulton, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book; Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor by Patricia Valdez; and I Don't Draw, I Color! by Adam Lehrhaupt. Visit her online at FelicitaSala.com. Follow her on Instagram @felicita.sala.

Hometown:

Los Angeles, California

Date of Birth:

1972

Place of Birth:

Helena, Montana

Education:

M.F.A. in Fiction, University of California, Irvine, 2000

Editorial Reviews

06/25/2021

K-Gr 2—The octopus is content with his life and loves the cave where he lives. He's able to see all the fish and sea creatures around him and can play around in the waves to his heart's content. This all changes when a diver whisks him away from his cave and takes him to an aquarium which the octopus calls a glass house. At first, the octopus loves the challenges the humans give him and all of the people that come to visit him and have their pictures taken. Soon though, the octopus becomes bored with the same life eating the same food. He hatches a plan to escape. His journey back to his cave is not an easy one, but this skilled octopus is not one to step away from a challenge. The art and words complement each other well and each has the opportunity to take center stage when the story warrants it. The pages vary in sentence length and number of sentences giving the reader a dynamic and engaging read, but the art is the real highlight of this tale. Each spread is full of vibrant colors and readers will enjoy being taken along on the journey. VERDICT Stunning artwork and an appealing story is sure to entertain readers, especially those interested in marine life.—Myiesha Speight, formerly at Towson Univ., Baltimore

School Library Journal

2021-03-31
Captured and confined for display to visitors in an aquarium, an octopus tires of his unvarying routine there and escapes to return to the ocean home he loves.

This satisfying home-away-home narrative imagines life from an octopus’s perspective. The story begins and ends in his comfortable cave, where he can watch sea creatures going about their business and feel the variety of water currents. His love for hiding in small spaces leads to capture. He’s bored in his new home in a “glass house that wasn’t a cave.” For entertainment, he’s given manipulatives, and the food is regular but unvarying—and certainly no challenge to catch. He’s taught to take pictures of and with the aquarium visitors. With no good way to communicate his feelings to his keeper, he leaves, slithering out of his tank and under a door to a convenient pier from which he can return to the water—and, after a long swim, to his home. The relatively simple text is nicely interwoven with cheerful illustrations, sometimes set on spreads, sometimes interrupted with vignettes, and sometimes on a page opposite a full-bleed image. It would read and show well to a group. This effort to see the world from the viewpoint of a captive species reflects actual experiences of some octopuses resident in New Zealand aquariums.

Offers an opportunity for conversation with young readers about the roles of zoos and aquariums. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for The Octopus Escapes:

An Indie Bestseller

“This is a beautifully illustrated picture book that manages to be lighthearted and fun whilst also exploring the negative implications of keeping animals—especially animals caught in the wild—in captivity.” —GeekMom
 
“Stunning . . . Sure to entertain readers.” —School Library Journal

“Sala’s vibrant illustrations teem with life . . . Readers will get a great glimpse into the capabilities of the wonderfully brainy octopus in this sweet meditation on the tradeoffs between living in safe comfort and making your own way in the world.” —Booklist

“[A] satisfying home-away-home narrative . . . Offers an opportunity for conversation with young readers about the roles of zoos and aquariums.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Sala (Green on Green) contributes vibrant art . . . The tender narrative is gratifying and may serve as an effective jumping-off point for discussions about animal captivity.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“Children will be drawn to the colorful, cute octopus and the diversity sea life contained in the bright illustrations.” —School Library Connection

“[A] delightful introduction to the problem-solving abilities of one of the most intelligent animals on our planet . . . Sala’s vibrant illustrations bring this small creature to life.” —The Horn Book

From the Publisher