Review Detail

I AM NOT AN OCTOPUS is a silly picture book about embracing yourself and facing your fears. Terry is not an octopus, because octopuses live in the water. As the reader soon learns, he is afraid of water because he cannot swim, and so he cannot visit his octopus parents or friends or go to the undersea amusement park. He is ready to change that and learn how to swim. Once he learns, he admits that he is an octopus and goes to the ocean to do all the things he has missed.

What I loved: This is a cute book that is sure to make children giggle. The ultimate messages are of embracing yourself as you are and facing your fears, which Terry does by learning to swim and thus being able to join his family and friends in the ocean. These are powerful for little ones who will get them through a story which infuses a lot of humor along the way. The juxtaposition of a clear octopus with claiming not to be one plus jokes (like asking if he can pee in the water) will definitely appeal to preschoolers and young elementary school readers.

The text is simple and straight-forward which will work well for young readers who will also appreciate the quickly turning pages. The illustrations are colorful and capture the story well with the adorable and expressive Terry appearing throughout.

Final verdict: I AM NOT AN OCTOPUS is a silly and cute picture book about facing your fears and embracing yourself as you are that is sure to make young children giggle.