Lucy the Octopus
Author: Richy K. Chandler
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Details: 136pp, £12.99, hardback
ISBN: 9781785925139
There has been a recent surge in the popularity of graphic novels, with lots of fantastic new titles being released. Lucy the Octopus stars an unpopular teen octopus and her pet puffer fish (and only friend), Puffy. Nobody seems to like her, not even her parents, but little do they know that Lucy is hiding a secret. She is actually a fantastic guitarist and has won a spot in popular local band Lamington Fuzz.
The story is absolutely packed full of laughs at the expense of poor old Lucy, with plenty for grown-up readers to enjoy along with the kids. Our readers’ attention was immediately grabbed by the witty, cartoon-style illustrations, and the pupils loved the anti-bullying message of the story. It would be a brilliant resource for discussing the importance of being able to be yourself and tolerating those who are different to you. It was noted by some of our test readers that some of the language used, while not swearing, was something that they would not use themselves.
Jo Cummins is a teacher and blogger at Library Girl and Book Boy
Pupil reviews
‘A funny tale about just being yourself’
‘The plot about friendship was really interesting’
“I found the plot really interesting as Lucy started off with no friends but slowly built up her friendships so she had people to stick up for her. My favourite characters were Sydney, who wasn’t afraid to be different, and Kate, who went from being mean to nice. I would definitely recommend this to a friend as it had a good message about being yourself and is really funny.’
Harry, aged 10
‘It was nice to see Lucy not getting teased’
“Lucy is a very uncool schoolgirl who has no friends. When the guitarist in Lucy’s favourite band quits, she takes on an alter-ego - ‘Melon Mask’ - and tries out. My favourite part was when she got into the band, because it was nice to see her not get teased. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to Year 5 or 6, but not younger because it has some bad language in it.”
Oly, aged 11
