Consumer Critique: Izzy & Oscar

Disclosure: I received complimentary products to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own.

Octopuses make the best pets! At least, that's the idea of the book Izzy & Oscar, from coauthors Allison Estes and Dan Stark, and noted illustrator Tracy Dockray.

Pretend pirate captain Izzy is looking for a pet when an adventurous little octopus squiggles into town, landing right where X marks the spot, of course! When Izzy finds Oscar, she decides to keep him.

Izzy tries to teach Oscar to behave like a dog, a parrot, and a pony—and eventually realizes that Oscar is special because of his own talents.

Izzy & Oscar also features 12 fun and interesting “octofacts” at the end of the story. (Did you know an octopus has three hearts and blue blood?)

My girls both loved this book. My older one had fun spouting off the facts that she learned at the end, and both of them found the book humorous and cute.

Allison Estes has written fifteen books for young readers. She teaches writing through the New York Writers Workshop, the JCC in Manhattan, the New York Public Library, and the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council in Oxford, MS.

Tracy Dockray has illustrated numerous picture books, as well as an edition of Beverly Cleary's Ramona Series, Ralph the Mouse Series, and Ribsy Series. Her most recent book, The Lost and Found Pony, won the Moonbeam Award.