This rhyming tale brims with wit and captivating sea creatures. A young octopus, drawn with huge eyes, eyebrows, pink cheeks, and a baseball cap, has a problem that he finds horribly embarrassing: he has no underpants. In this particular sea (indicated by bubbles rising against a range of bright backgrounds), all the other denizens wear underwear (except for the anemones, who laugh at the octopus anyway), so the octopus sets out on a quest to find the right eight-legged garment. He goes into pop-up stores, like the Clam Closet and the Bargain Bucket. He tries "surfing the net" but ends up with one cod and three tuna in an actual fishing net. The vividly hued illustrations pop with a wide range of fish, all wearing bright striped or polka-dotted boxers, bloomers, and long johns, all of which make the octopus feel increasingly embarrassed. Then the octopus enters an underwater department store, where the manager, a seahorse wearing a bow tie, changes the cephalopod's life by reframing his problem. Engaging, with a good lesson in problem-solving.

Embarrassed by his lack of underpants, an octopus discovers why he doesn't need them.Written as a ballad, this jaunty tale is giggle-producing. Having six legs too many for the standard briefs, he finds no one who can supply him with the appropriate clothing. "I've even tried to shop online. / I tried to surf the net." But then he discovers the Under-Sea Emporium, which has clothing for every kind of sea creature from barnacles to rainbow trout—and with snazzy designs as well. Even better, the sea horse storekeeper solves the protagonist's problem. The choice of meter supports the cheerful tone, and Senior's rhyme and rhythm work beautifully. Powell fills the pages with lively, surprising sea creatures; on one spread they all wear underpants of some kind, and on another several sport hats. Her training in graphic design and background in animation are reflected in careful pacing of the storyboard, which will show reasonably well to groups, but lap-sitters will find humorous details on these pages, drawn by hand and colored digitally. Questions of accuracy are irrelevant in this kind of light verse, but for the sake of the rhyme the writer has used a nonstandard plural, "octopi," though biologists prefer "octopuses." And, as is customary in cartoons, the illustrator has placed the octopus's eyes and mouth on its mantle instead of on the head in the middle. It would be helpful to balance a storytime presentation with something more realistic.Gentle humor and bubbly fun. (Picture book. 3-6)