Consider the Octopus

by Nora Raleigh Baskin (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
When chance, or fate, throws two twelve-year-olds together on board a scientific research ship at the edge of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it’s not all smooth sailing!

Jeremy “JB” Barnes is looking forward to spending the summer before seventh grade hanging on the beach. But his mother, a scientist, has called for him to join her aboard a research ship where, instead, he’ll spend his summer seasick and bored as he stares out at the endless plastic, microbeads, and other floating debris, both visible and not, that make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Miles and miles away, twelve-year-old Sidney Miller is trying to come up with an alternate activity worthy of convincing her overprotective parents that she can skip summer camp.

When Jeremy is asked to find the contact information for a list of important international scientists and invite them to attend a last-minute Emergency Global Summit, he's excited to have a chance to actually do something that matters to the mission. How could he know that the Sidney Miller he messages is not the famous marine biologist he has been tasked with contacting, but rather a girl making podcasts from her bedroom―let alone that she would want to sneak aboard the ship?

Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner's Consider the Octopus is a comedy of errors, mistaken identity, and synchronicity. Above all, it is a heartfelt story about friendship and an empowering call to environmental protection, especially to our young people who are already stepping up to help save our oceans and our Earth.
Select format:
Paperback
$8.99

Kirkus

Starred Review
An inspiring tale of friendship and conservation.

ALA/Booklist

Told in alternating voices, Consider the Octopus is a fun, slightly madcap, summer adventure on the high seas with a strong environmental bent.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7--JB is 12 years old and facing a long summer at sea as the only kid on the NOAA deep sea research vessel Oceania II, where his mother is the lead research scientist. JB gets tasked with inviting scientists and students to an environmental summit on board to raise awareness of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and hopefully reestablish funding for their mission. The invitations include Dr. Sidney Miller, a renown marine biologist. But Sidney Miller is also the name of a 12-year-old girl who is desperate to escape her dreaded summer camp, and is now, thanks to JB, the recipient of the mistaken invitation. Sidney is not going to let this opportunity go; she accepts the invitation and hatches a plan. JB, flummoxed by his mistake, agrees to sneak her onboard. From hiding out in a nest in the ship's laundry room, to serial impersonation of a renowned scientist, Sidney, JB, and their friends lurch from hilarious crisis to crisis, staying barely one step ahead of the adults--until the fateful day Sidney is discovered. With nonstop action, a surprisingly effective ending, and empathetic characters, this is a fast, fun read. VERDICT A sure winner for readers interested in the environment and adventure, or even just in adventure.--Gretchen Crowley

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Faith in coincidence buoys this optimistic, seafaring comedy of errors, told from two cued-white 12-year-olds' alternating perspectives. Jeremy "JB" Barnes is the seasickness-prone son of a lead scientist aboard Oceania II, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel on a mission to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Meanwhile, ocean-obsessed Sidney Miller is desperately trying to avoid going to summer camp. When Jeremy is tasked with inviting scientists to attend an impromptu publicity campaign, he mistakenly invites Sidney, who, with assistance from her Jewish nana (a believer in synchronicity and the philosophy of tikkun olam, or "repairing the world"), conspires to board the ship. Rather than admit his error, Jeremy sneaks Sidney in under the name of a no-show student. Mistaken identity and slapstick comedy mingle with grim facts about microplastics and marine debris, culminating in the duo's attempt to lure a world-famous environmental reporter to the campaign to raise global awareness for the cleanup effort. In their latest collaboration, Baskin and Polisner's (Seven Clues to Home) upbeat eco-adventure combines fiction with real-world issues and affirms that kids can bring about change. Ages 8-12. Agents: (for Baskin) Katelyn Detweiler, Jill Grinberg Literary; (for Polisner) Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Apr.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

A breath of fresh air. Clever plotting sprinkled with humor and accessible STEM references made this a joyful, bingeable adventure you won't want to put down. —Christine Taylor-Butler, author of The Lost Tribes series

Funny, fast-paced, and super-engaging, Consider the Octopus is sure to inspire readers to embrace their strengths and change their world. —Joy McCullough, author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost 

Nora Raleigh Baskin

Nora Raleigh Baskin is the ALA Schneider Family Book Award-winning author of Anything but Typical. She was chosen as a Publishers Weekly Flying Start author for her novel What Every Girl (Except Me) Knows, and has since written a number of novels for middle graders and teens, including The Truth About My Bat Mitzvah, The Summer Before Boys, Ruby on the Outside, and Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story, which received starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. Nora lives with her family in Connecticut.

Gae Polisner is the author of several prior novels including the award-winning The Memory of Things and In Sight of Stars. She lives on Long Island with her husband, two sons, a citrus-leatherback bearded dragon, and a suspiciously fictional-looking small dog. When not writing, Gae continues to practice family law, or can be found in a pool or the open waters off Long Island where she still hopes that, one day, her wetsuit will turn her into a superhero.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781250866011
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Henry Holt & Company
Publication date
April 25, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
JUV068000 - Juvenile Fiction | Travel
JUV063000 - Juvenile Fiction | Recycling & Green Living
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Water
Sea stories
Pollution
Impersonation
Marine pollution

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!