Monday 6 February 2017

Also An Octopus

Also An Octopus

By Maggie Tokuda-Hall & Benji Davies
Published by Walker Books


An imaginative debut from Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrations from Benji Davies, the illustrator of The Storm Whale and Grandad's Island, comes a metafictive story about ... how to build a story!



First, a story needs a character. So why not a ukulele-playing octopus? And since this is a story, the octopus has to want something – maybe it dreams of travelling to faraway galaxies in a purple spaceship. But every character needs an obstacle to overcome, and when the octopus sets out to build its own spaceship out of glue, umbrellas, glitter and waffles ... well, he doesn't have much luck. Could there be another character that could help? Debut author Maggie Tokuda-Hall sets up a funny, smart and warm-hearted story all about storytelling, then hands the baton to imaginative readers, who will be more than prepared to take it away.

Also An Octopus is a very original and imaginative picture book. The illustrations are what you'd expect from Benji Davies, full of character and quirkiness. I especially loved the octopus - not an animal you'd usually see pop up in a picture book and here he is portrayed as a lovable and fun character.

Maggie's text is full of humour and gives readers an insight into how stories come about and how they develop. I enjoyed the metaphor of building a story from anything that could enter your mind - the more bonkers the better! A great bedtime read and one to get slightly older readers thinking about how to tell stories of their own!




Also An Octopus is available to buy now from all good bookshops and online from the Walker books website.

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