I really enjoyed reading this book which, at first, seems to be for children but instead is very charming and full of beautiful drawings. The world of cephalopods and all the interesting facts about them.

Mi sono davvero divertita a leggere questo libro che, inizialmente sembra per bambini ma invece é molto affascinante e pieno di disegni bellissimi. Il mondo dei cefalopodi e tutte le curiosità che li riguardano.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for an advanced copy of Amazing Octopus.

Note: Review based on October 2023 ARC version.

In some ways, I really enjoyed this book but in other ways I'm both confused and disappointed in this book.

Let's start with the good:
- Octopus facts: I think the author definitely touched on the highlights of octopus info and covered some of the more distressing facts (octopus death) in a gentle way.
- I liked the Bright Minds sections. Not sure that I would call those sections Bright Minds but I liked the intent behind those sections.
- The writing style and tone was good. Very conversational which I think works for a book that's non-fiction.
- The illustrations were really beautiful.
- Liked the incorporation of activities in the book but am unsure how they will work in the final version of the book. Like the author mentions writing in the book and coloring pages but how would that work in a ebook or library book?

And the less good:
- I'm super confused about the target audience for this. The vocabulary leans towards middle school but the activities and some of the way things are talked about lean towards middle elementary age readers.
- The book feels very stream of consciousness. The author talks about the big bang, stars, other animals, career choices, and so much more. While at first I enjoyed these switches into other topics, I started losing patience towards the end.
- The stories are very European focused and the measurements are metric. I honestly didn't have a problem with this but wonder if a younger audience will.

All in all, there are some really nice parts to Amazing Octopus. I hope that they are able to make some adjustments to the less great parts before the book is published.

Amazing Octopus
First and foremost, thank you so much to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for providing me with a free copy of Amazing Octopus in exchange for the opportunity to share my honest feedback.

I have always seen octopi as incredible creatures with a natural talent to adapt. Oddly enough, they also happen to be my son's favorite animals - especially when they are red.

I picked up this book thinking that I might be able to learn a few new fun facts to share with my kiddo, but while many facts are included, I found the writing style very confusing and distracting. Unfortunately, the mixture of fact, opinion, and unrelated topics felt as if too many ingredients were added to a blender without a lid. It does get a little better later in the book, but it would benefit from more editing and formatting prior to release.

One thing that confused me, was the target audience for this book. When I chose to review it, I thought maybe 8-12 years old. As I read through, however, it is definitely too advanced for my 8 year old son. The wording is generally ok (he is an advanced reader), but the amount of text and information would be very overwhelming for him. My 12 year old daughter would be able to read it, however. Perhaps the target audience is more like 10-14? If it is for older children as I believe, the interactive portions on pages 76, 86, 96, and 120 may be seen as a bit childish to the reader as tweens and teens are usually "too cool" for that kind of thing.

Overall, the informative parts of this book are very good. I absolutely adore the illustrations! They are stunning, and my son wants prints of them for his bedroom walls.

As is, I do not feel comfortable leaving a public review due to the fact that I feel that it is still very much a work in progress. I do think you are on to something with the information about octopuses, but feel that is currently in an unfinished state. I would, however, be interested in revisiting this book to leave a review if/when it is finalized.

Octopuses have had a renaissance lately so this book is timely.

Translated from German, there is a distinctly German focus which is to be expected. However, the question is will non-German speaking children care about any connections to the German language? I would take all these German references out.

This book is meant to be about octopuses but the author uses an almost a stream of consciousness writing style which will make this rather useless as a textbook for children. The authorial voice is distinctive: quirky, humorous and whimsical. He comes across as an enthusiastic storyteller. However, combining whimsy with science must be handled with care.

The book starts out with an introduction about outer space, which feels unnecessary and confusing in a book about octopuses. There are illustrations of sea creatures in all the fact boxes in the entire book, and these creatures have nothing to do with the facts, which is completely baffling.

Explaining red giant suns by writing things like someday we’ll be able to touch the sun with our hands can be troublesome for children who take things literally. And why even bring up the upsetting, inevitable end of our world in a children’s book about octopuses? He also tells children that you can be anything you want to be if you just want it with all your heart. Not true. Let’s not traumatize children and also set them up for failure and disappointment.

Also, there are several more troublesome details: he quite often encourages the reader to ask their “parents” about things. Many children only have one parent or are raised by a non-parent guardian. He assumes that all children reading this book have a car (this is mentioned) as well as access to a local planetarium. Unfortunately, not true.

And I wonder about the science: the author writes that starlight travels for an "eternity" before we can even perceive it? I’m not a scientist but I don’t think that’s correct. It doesn’t take “countless years” as he writes… scientists know exactly how many light years and can count them. Have a scientist review this book before publishing.

Either this is a scientific book or whimsy, but the mixture becomes very confusing.
The facts about octopuses are fascinating and I really enjoyed reading about them.
The pointillism illustrations are absolutely gorgeous but become very repetitive.
I wish I could give this book a more positive review but it needs a major overhaul.
I don’t know how much this book will be edited before publication so I will not post any public reviews.