The Outstanding Octokey

Gr 2-4–Noah and Blue are good friends who start off every Thursday with a magical moment. Blue shows up at precisely 7:38 AM before school to eat whatever food he can get at Noah’s house because he is always hungry. The two boys roll the dice and open up Zooniverse, a magical book that was given to Noah by his grandfather. The book gives the boys the ability to mash up two animals and create a new animal for the day. There are three rules that accompany the use of the book: Zooniverse must remain hidden from other people, the creations invented must remain a secret, and the animals have to be returned to their respective pages before the end of the day or they will disappear. Weaving animal facts into the text, Weetman infuses the combination creature with unique characteristics that fit seamlessly into the narrative and give the high jinks a complete plausibility even if the creations seem completely preposterous (a Spidersaurus, for example, is a combination tarantula and T. rex). Black-and-white illustrations capture the cartoon hilarity of the creatures and readers will root for the boys (Noah has pale skin while Blue has darker skin) who try to keep things under control.