The Tickle-Octopus

In my opinion this is a good solid book for 1st or 2nd grade. I liked how it had fun and playful aspects to it, specifically when the characters used silly caveman talk. Even as a 20 year old women, I couldn’t help but chuckle at how absurd their language was. The use of the caveman talk kept the readers very engaged because they had to listen intently to hear the translation into modern day English. Additionally, I like it because of the dramatized illustrations. If a 1st or 2nd grader wasn’t familiar with Stone Age era, the pictures made it easy to understand. Whatever emotions the characters were feeling was made clear by the embellished facial expressions, which also made the story easy to follow along with because there was show more never any confusion as to how the characters were feeling. The overall big idea was the overwhelming positive effect spreading joy and happiness can have on a community. One person can make such a huge difference in others’ lives, even if it is by simply making them smile or laugh. show less

I had mixed feelings for the book because the plot seemed very dark for a children's book. At one point the plot lead to the main characters siblings being taken away by lions, falling into bear pits, or just simply being lost. I feel as if that is very dark for young children to wrap their heads around. However, I also really enjoyed the characters that were present in the book. The main character is a young boy who is the first person in the world to smile. The characters were very relatable because even though the story takes place in prehistoric times, the characters possess the same characteristics as families today. The parents were overprotective until the child shows them that they don't have to be and it was really believable. show more The main message of the story was that just because something is new does not mean that it is bad. show less

The book was interesting. It took place in ancient times about an octopus who is taken from the water and brings happiness to a very unhappy family. The premise of the story sounds good, but the way that it is written draws me away from it as it uses a lot of words that are made up or do not make sense to what age group this book would be appropriate for. It could be interesting for children who enjoy stories that take place in the far past. One of the best parts of the story were the illustrations. They were very colorful and helped to set the setting for the story.

I enjoyed reading this book because it had a lot of great and colorful illustrations, and the plot was very well organized. The illustrations of the entire book were so creative! For example, the cover of the book, as well as, the pages were all "tore up" around the edges. It made the book seem like it went through a lot which was a great connection to the era of the book. This book is set during a prehistoric time and the characters are all cavemen. The plot was another great part of the book! It had some pretty suspenseful parts that were very intriguing. For example, the octopus in the story was called a creature and he was hiding in the back of a cave. During the part of finding the octopus, the language and text made it pretty show more suspenseful. The big idea of this story was for everyone to be happy and come together. At the beginning of the book everyone was angry, and then the octopus tickled them and they all became happy and everyone came together and got along. show less

I liked this book for two reasons. First, I enjoyed the language used in it because it was silly and funny and out of this world. When the characters would share dialogue, the author would first have the people talk in their language, which was just a bunch of grunts and sounds, then would translate to explain what that language meant to the readers in today's language.

A second reason that I enjoyed this book was because of the plot. The story was placed in ancient history before people knew how to smile, laugh, and play. But all because of the tickle octopus, it changed the people of the world forever. Something that I thought was funny about the plot was that at times, things would seem suspenseful, like when the boy was showing the show more octopus to his parents and when they all showed it to the rest of the people, but every time the octopus tickled someone, it just brought more laughter into the world. It was a cute plot to portray how playfulness and silliness came into the world.

The big idea of the story was to show readers in a silly way that because of the tickleoctopus in ancient times, we now have playfulness in our lives today. show less

I liked this book for two reasons. The first reason would be because the characters were very well developed. As the characters talked to each other, their personalities came out and readers could easily see what kind of people they were. For example, when the mom and dad wake up they mumble negative comments which shows they are negative people. I also like this book because of the illustrations. The images showed how the characters interacted and expressed their feelings and emotions very well. For example, in one picture the dad got very mad and how the illustrator highlighted and exaggerated his face really gave readers a good idea about how mad he was. The big idea of this story was that just one little thing (in this case the show more tickleoctopus) could change a family and bring them back together and to make them happy. show less

I LOVE the Tickleoctopus by Audry Wood and Don Wood. This is a cute story for young readers about emotions. This is a story of a cave family who first discovered how to smile and laughter. I love that the story takes place in prehistoric times - the plot and characters are very well thought out and developed. I believe children would like this story because it is fun and silly. The pictures clearly depict what is happening in the story.