JP and the Giant Octopus

June 1, 2015
J.P. thinks of himself a shark—at least, when he’s feeling brave. But he doesn’t feel that way when he’s faced with the “octopus” at the car wash. J.P. cowers in the backseat while an imagined orange cephalopod batters the family car. Sirotich’s playful transformation of the car wash into coral reef dotted with “Turn Off Engine” and “One Way” signs keeps the octopus’s assault from feeling too frightening, and when J.P. remembers his shark alter ego, it’s the octopus’s turn to be scared. A sensitive, humorous look at how imagination can both fuel anxiety and conquer it. Available simultaneously: J.P. and the Polka-Dotted Aliens. Ages 4–7. Illustrator’s agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

July 1, 2015
To many if not most children, a first visit to a car wash can be a terrifying experience. Crespo opens her My Emotions and Me series with-as the Mood-o-Meter on the front cover indicates-"Scared." Behind a homemade shark mask, young J.P. is fierce enough at home, but a trip through the wash in the family car plunges him into paroxysms of dread: "The giant octopus tried to cover our car with slime. / Then it tried to smash us. I couldn't see anything. And there were creepy noises all around." In Sirotich's very simple cartoon illustrations, the car wash becomes an undersea scene featuring a huge orange octopus. Once J.P. remembers that "I am a brave shark," he turns the tables-though not without empathy. As the toothy predator, he smiles and apologizes after making the octopus cry and then realizing that it "just wanted to play." Co-published J.P. and the Polka-Dotted Aliens does similar bibliotherapeutic work with (as the Mood-o-Meter puts it) "Mad," as J.P. modifies his initial response to two girls (thicker skinned than the octopus) who force him to share a playground. Both episodes close with advice for parents and a short reading list. Quick, cut-and-dried behavior modeling to share with children in the wakes of common emotional tempests. (Picture book. 4-6)

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