Inky the Octopus by Erin Guendelsberger is the Hamilton Book of the Week nominated by Clifton Hills Elementary. Follow Inky the octopus as he escapes from the National Aquarium of New Zealand to the ocean! Based on a true story, Inky the Octopus: Bound for Glory chronicles the adventure that the real-life Inky might have taken on his escape to freedom in the open ocean!
Editorial Reviews
Amazon
from Amazon Readers
From Amazon.com:
"An imagined adventure inspired by real-life escape-artist octopodes... The colors and shapes used to depict the marine life create a great deal of personality and visual interest for the background of the illustrations. Portrayals of Inky's life in the aquarium make more use of white space while the world outside incorporates more color, with the final pages depicting the open ocean and coral reef proving the most colorful of all. " - School Library Journal
"Inky is a great companion for family trips to the beach or aquarium. In jaunty rhyming verse, Inky relays his tale, which is based on the true story of an octopus that escaped from the National Aquarium in New Zealand in 2016. Inky lives in a "world of see-through walls" and dines like a king on lobster, shrimp and squid, but he yearns to be free in the open sea. The intrepid marine creature squeezes, schemes and slips from his tank and through a tiny drain hole to drop to the ocean below, where he exuberantly exclaims, "I'll follow my heart wherever it leads. I'll travel far and wide." The back matter includes fascinating facts about octopi and brief stories about other eight-tentacle wonders." - Washington Parent
To check out more recommended books in the Hamilton Book of the Week at https://www.hcde.org/parents___students/suggested_reading.
Hamilton Book of the Week seeks to move Hamilton County Schools closer to district goals found in the Future Ready 2023 action plan. We hope to encourage kids to read more books for fun by sharing books popular at area schools.
Goals more students reading will address include:
- Reading improvement will increase the number of students on-track or mastering English language arts
- Improve the district ACT score to a district average of 21
- Reach the target goal of a 90 percent graduation rate by 2023