OCTOPUS STEW

When Ramsey’s grandma, who is just a wee bit grumpy, sees his painting of an octopus, she’s inspired to make pulpo guisado—octopus stew—and adventure ensues.

Ramsey and Grandma, both Afro-Latinx, head to the store, where they find an octopus with wide and expressive eyes—Ramsey suspects it is still alive. He searches his phone for information about octopuses and gets a warning he tries to share with his grandmother, but she is too annoyed at the interruption to listen. Once home, Grandma cleans the octopus, but shortly after the creature is dropped into boiling water, noises come from the kitchen they can’t explain. In the kitchen, they see the octopus has escaped the pot. It is now a giant monster Ramsey must fight in order to save Grandma, who is being squeezed by the octopus’s arms. At the height of the action, the story is interrupted by Ramsey’s father, who declares disbelief in a double gate-fold revealing that Ramsey is telling this story to his rapt family, making it both an entertaining tale in itself and a comment on the power of storytelling. This narrative is related primarily in English with some accompanying, unitalicized Spanish phrases. The backmatter includes an author’s note, a Spanish glossary with pronunciation key, and a recipe for octopus stew.

A delightful modern tall tale sure to entertain and inspire readers to share (and embroider) their own stories.