"A shy little octopus tries playing with new friends, and has fun doing it, but still retreats to the safety of the deep alone. Soon, however, Octopus decides she likes being among others and sets out to join them. A great story for encouraging kids who may be a little shy." - Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor From the author of Little Owl's Night comes a new book about shy Octopus who lives on a lively reef, and what happens when she finds herself in a new place far from home, wonderfully, peacefully alone. As she did in Little Owl's Night , Divya Srinivasan shows children a wonderful part of the natural world in a very warm-hearted way. PreS-Gr 2-As she did in last year's sweetly graphic Little Owl's Night (Viking, 2011), Srinivasan again produces a visually appealing story of a young animal finding its way in the big wide world. In this case, a bashful, doe-eyed orange octopus ventures away from home to escape the friendly enthusiasm of three seahorses. Charmingly stylized sea creatures (helpfully labeled in the delightful endpapers) float through an aqua-and-purple waterscape with an occasionally confusing perspective that renders the seahorses tiny on one page and larger than our timid heroine on the next. Reserved or introspective children may sympathize with the octopus, who employs authentic octopus tricks like camouflaging her color and squirting ink at the boisterous trio before escaping to deeper waters; even more readers could benefit from a reminder that not everyone always wants to play. But the narrative does not quite cohere and the paean to shyness gets lost in marine diversions: drifting jellyfish, an attacking eel, a breaching whale that earns a gatefold. After restoring herself with quiet and a solo jig, the octopus wishes for companionship and the text concludes that she is "glad to be back with her friends." Once readers realize that the seahorses she avoided, fled, and squirted are her friends, this final line provides a pleasant resolution as well as gentle encouragement for the bashful among us to dip a toe-or tentacle-into the ocean of sociability.-Robbin E. Friedman, Chappaqua Library, NYα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Praise for Divya's first book,  LITTLE OWL’S NIGHT : "This debut picture book gets it all just right. The story, while familiar, is executed deftly and with heart, and the crisp graphic elements of the artwork juxtapose well against the pretty prose." — Booklist,   starred review   "The story's chief virtue is its graceful, balletic prose... It's a provocative inversion of the classic bedtime story, and a solid first outing. Srinivasan's message is that night is a delightful place, and that's useful knowledge for small children." — Publisher's Weekly  "A graceful bedtime story celebrates the beauty found in night... Hold on to Little Owl's tail feathers and soar." — Kirkus Reviews "This exceptional first book by Srinivasan, a talented illustrator... follows Little Owl during his nighttime explorations... this bedtime tale may even convert children who are afraid of the dark into adventuresome night owls" — New York Times  Book Review "This is the most visually and verbally gorgeous picture book of the year... Simple, dazzling - and simply dazzling." — The Boston Globe Praise for  OCTOPUS ALONE : "Srinivasan follows her debut,  Little Owl’s Night  (2011), with a similarly striking rendition of the marine world in this no-place-like-home tale."  — Kirkus "...every page is stunner." — Publishers Weekly "a visually appealing story " — School Library Journal “Srinivasan, an animator and the author of the luminous “Little Owl’s Night” (2011), brings the same distinctive beauty to this story of a glowy orange octopus, ‘hidden in her cozy cave.’” — New York Times  Book Review Octopus loves living on the busy reef under the sea. From her cozy cave, she can see clown fish, and sea turtles, and little butterflies swimming by. She especially loves watching the seahorses having fun, wiggling and twirling. Sometimes she will play with them, but occasionally Octopus just wants to be alone, somewhere quiet, and not so busy. So one day, she swims far, far beyond the reef and finds another cozy cave, only here she is perfectly, wonderfully alone. It is exactly what she wanted . . . until she's ready to go back home to be with her friends. Divya Srinivasan lives in Austin, Texas. Her other books are Little Owl's Night, Little Owl's Day, and the soon to be released  Little Owl's Snow . She also illustrated the picture book,  Cinnamon , written by Neil Gaiman. Octopus loves living on the busy reef under the sea. Shows children a wonderful part of the natural world in a very warm-hearted way. Book contains 40 pages and measures 9.25 in x 6.25 in. Recommended for Ages: 3 - 5 years.