Lacy’s eight-tentacled star is a winning combination of mischievous and sweet, as eager to help Suzette adjust to her new surroundings as he is to wreak havoc when the zoo staff isn’t watching him closely. When he finally builds up the nerve to get close to Suzette, Harry is stunned to find out he now has a partner in crime—and the pair quickly go about planning their getaway, with the help of Harry’s entertaining “Octo Map” that details their possible escape routes. Dana Cooper accompanies those master plans with dainty watercolor illustrations that undulate with the colors and shapes of the briny deep, culminating in a final kaleidoscopic portrait that swirls the shades of Harry and Suzette’s happily ever after across the page.
Young readers will revel in Harry’s horseplay and be amused by his roguish facial expressions and poses, as well as Suzette’s more demure but equally entertaining body language. Lacy’s lessons on animal conservation also hit home, though the rhyming structure used to deliver those lessons feels forced at times. Still, kids able to read between the lines will feel the strong pull of two caged octopi that “really just want to roam.”
Takeaway: Two octopi with a taste of freedom charm in this bubbly tale.
Comparable Titles: DJ Burk’s Gamba, Tohby Riddle’s The Great Escape.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: B+
Illustrations: A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A
