Squid and Octopus Friends for Always by Tao Nyeu

As she wonders what to do, a fuzzy platypus playmate asks some wise questions (“What…would your Pappy say to do? / What makes YOU feel better?”), and Hugasaurus decides to give everyone a hug-though she remembers to ask permission first. But Hugasaurus’ pals begin to squabble, and play comes to a halt. At first, the new friends laugh and play. The story has a first-day-of-school feeling, but Hugasaurus doesn’t end up in a formal school environment rather, she finds herself on a playground with other little prehistoric creatures, though no teacher or adult seems to be around. There is something to be learned from these models.Ī group of young “dinosauruses” go out into the world on their own.Ī fuchsia little Hugasaurus and her Pappysaur (both of whom resemble Triceratops) have never been apart before, but Hugasaurus happily heads off with lunchbox in hand and “wonder in her heart” to make new friends. Arnold Lobel, James Marshall and Mo Willems each created famous odd couples by pairing verbal restraint with nuanced facial expressions, universal feelings with understated affection. Side comments of secondary characters don’t add much in the way of humor or interest. The characters’ emotional range is limited.

Why wouldn’t Squid know about mittens, if those are what they always wear? When Octopus cheers Squid up after his dream, the conversation sounds more like an unnaturally cheery adult talking to a child than two close friends. The conflicts and dialogues, for the most part, do not ring true. While Nyeu’s swirling silkscreens, executed in a controlled palette of blues, greens, oranges and yellows, present flora and fauna in magical, decorative compositions, her verbal narrative falls short. Octopus then mistakes a cowboy boot for a hat finally, the duo reads a fortune about everlasting friendship-the most successful story of the lot.

Next, Squid is sad to have lost the X-ray vision bestowed while dreaming-and his status as “Super Squid.” His friend convinces him that he remains special. When Squid knits socks for his multiple limbs and Octopus tells him they wear mittens, not socks, the buddies argue.

Nyeu’s latest contains four stories about the relationship between two eccentric sea creatures.

Squid and Octopus Friends for Always by Tao Nyeu