An octopus tells us about his struggle to find ‘octopants’ in this fun to read rhyming story which had us turning the pages to see how he would find a solution to his problem.
The Story: An octopus is trying to find octopants that will fit him. Nobody in town can help him and online shopping is unsuccessful but then he discovers the Under-Sea Emporium. The shop sells all sorts of clothing and with the help of the owner the octopus realises that he’s been looking for the wrong item of clothing all along so he buys something else…
Octopants, with its fun, rhyming text, had us turning the pages to see whether the octopus would find a pair of underpants that would suit him, it’s not easy to find clothes when you have eight legs! Before we turned the last page we spent some time trying to guess what he would buy. Suffice it to say that the octopus was happy with his purchase and we think he looks pretty good too!
Claire Powell’s colourful underwater illustrations are full of humorous detail, the sea creatures, even the fish, have all found underpants that fit them. The octopus is a friendly endearing character and we can really sympathise with his frustration and sadness, even a squid and a turtle have found underpants to wear! The shops in town are cleverly named but we did feel sorry for the octopus when the shopkeepers laughed at him. In comparison, the seahorse at the Under-Sea Emporium is very helpful and with his guidance the octopus realises that octopants are not what he needs. Our favourite spread shows the two creatures swimming through the shop which has an amazing selection and we particularly love the urchin’s onesies and the jellyfish jewellery.
Octopants is fun to read and very entertaining, we love the final spread showing a very happy octopus. The story gives lots of opportunities for talking about colour, items of clothing and counting different kinds of sea creature. It would be a great story to include in an Ocean topic in an Early Years classroom.
Author: Suzy Senior / Illustrator: Claire Powell
Thank you to Little Tiger Press for sending Octopants, we love the fun to read rhyming text and the humour in the illustrations.
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