I’M THE BEST ARTIST IN THE OCEAN

Exuberance undiminished (and miraculously out of the whale that ate him in his last adventure), the squid who proclaimed I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean! (2007) returns with equally high-volume claims to artistic preeminence: “I can DRAW!!” Brushing depictions of sea life modeled in simple lines or complex, in styles ranging from naturalistic to cubist, the bright blue, multiple-brush-wielding mollusk daubs paint liberally, splashing two very cross-looking clownfish and giving himself a nattily artsy ink moustache. He pauses but a moment when a page-filling, snaggle-toothed shark bellows “STOP! / You are making a mess!” “You mean… / a MESS-terpiece!” Capped by a double gatefold on which a whale of epic size models a Picasso-esque nautical mural drawn (claims Sherry) in fresh squid ink, this new outing should, like its predecessor, excite enthusiastic responses from young audiences—though the formula may not last much longer. (Picture book. 5-7)