ALA Booklist (Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2004)

Acclaimed nature writer Montgomery has written about octopuses for adults and middle-graders (The Octopus Scientists?, 2015). Now she brings the curious cephalopod to the pre- and primary-school sets. Inky achieved worldwide fame after escaping from New Zealand's National Aquarium via a floor drain. Montgomery tells Inky's story by imagining his life as a young hatchling in the Pacific Ocean, noting the food he would eat, how he'd use his suckers (to grip and taste!), and his driving desire to explore. Drama enters in the form of a moray eel, which injures Inky, who then hides in a lobster trap. Luckily, the fisherman who finds Inky takes him to the aquarium, and the rest is history. The mixed-media illustrations make good use of dynamic spreads, color, and texture rfect for a book on a master of camouflage. Montgomery seamlessly incorporates interesting facts about octopuses into the narrative, such as octopuses' tendency to change color to match their mood. An author's note provides more information on Inky, observations about octopuses in captivity, and fun facts.

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Real octopus Inky was caught in a Pacific Ocean lobster trap and transferred to a seemingly blissful life at a New Zealand aquarium. Yet when the opportunity arises, Inky squeezes himself through a loose tank cover gap, into a drainpipe, and out into the Pacific, where he (presumably) lives today. Montgomery weaves detailed science into Inky's story. Schimler-Safford's brightly colored illustrations effectively hint at Inky's intelligence. Reading list.

Kirkus Reviews

Inky the octopus escapes again.The author of The Soul of an Octopus (2015, for adults) provides a picture-book example of octopus intelligence in this latest account of the escape of an octopus named Inky from the New Zealand National Aquarium. Her well-paced narrative begins with his hatching in the wild, from an egg "the size of a grain of rice." The writer weaves in plenty of informational details about octopuses' physical characteristics and habits while she spins the likely story of his injury (two tentacles partially bitten off by a moray eel), accidental capture, and subsequent life in a public aquarium. The smooth prose invites children's appreciation for this remarkable species, which even enjoy playing with familiar toys. A reassuring endnote explains that the octopus was "probably very happy in his tank at the aquarium." But, like readers and listeners, he was curious, "eager to discover what else is out there." Colorful, digitally finished illustrations created using various paints, oil pastel, and collage give a reasonable impression of the octopus's world, but Inky's popping eyes lack the characteristic, usually rectangular slit, and he's shown as female. A New Zealand street scene has cars driving on the wrong side of the road. Montgomery's imagined story is informed by her extensive knowledge and rings true; sadly, the illustrations are less convincing. Still, this is the most plausible of many recent iterations of this great escape. (endnote, fun facts, further resources) (Informational picture book. 5-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In 2016, an octopus named Inky made global news by escaping from New Zealand-s National Aquarium. This story recounts that event and imagines Inky-s pre- and postaquarium life in the wild. -Each octopus set out on a journey alone. They-re born ready to explore,- Montgomery (How to Be a Good Creature) writes in her direct, deeply respectful prose. At birth, Inky is -the size of a grain of rice,- and his considerable intellect and ultrapliable body stand him in good stead as he grows until, baseball-size and bitten, he-s scooped up in a fisherman-s net and taken to an aquarium. Life in captivity means crab snacks, toys (he plays with Lego blocks and Mr. Potato Head), and tickles from his trainer. But his innate curiosity wins out, and one night, Inky slips out of his tank and slides into a floor drain that leads back to the ocean. Textured mixed-media collages by Schimler-Safford (Hidden City) playfully evoke underwater scenes with brilliant hues. Inky regards the world with eager, lightly anthropomorphized googly eyes, but he-s never over-romanticized and emerges as a wily, winning personality. A final spread offers more octopus facts for eager learners. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)