Pentapus is the gentle story of a young boy called Bryan, who discovers a five legged octopus at the local pet shop and falls in love. Pentapus goes everywhere with Bryan the bath, the supermarket and even to school. It isn't long before the Year 6 bad boy strikes and on the eve of a visit from the school inspector, Pentapus is called upon to save the school from disaster.
Pentapus was written for and with the illustrator. As a newly independent reader, he had ideas about what he wanted to read and what would make it fun. As a result, the book has these key features:
-fourteen short chapters;
-illustrations throughout;
-short sentences, using 'real' language;
-numbered chapters with titles, to encourage the reader to 'keep going' 'Hey look I'm on chapter (x) already. I've read (x) pages. The next chapter is called (x). I wonder what's going to happen?';
-a 'This book belongs to ...' page;
-a pictorial introduction to the main characters;
-an ending which deliberately leaves room for the story to grow;
-a short message from the author and the illustrator to the reader;
-an activity page;
-and a 'Well done You've finished the book ' certificate.
The illustrations in the book are original and the product of their eight year old creator's imagination. Words and illustrations work together to bring the characters to life. As each character took shape, author and illustrator talked about the people from the author's childhood who were her inspiration; they discussed how each character might look, their motivation and how their looks could mirror their personality.
Given the age of the illustrator, the end result is little short of amazing