Reviews

Love, Agnes: Postcards from an Octopus by Thea Baker, Irene Latham

sharonskinner's review against another edition

4.0

Super fun way to present NF information about octopuses.

agudenburr's review against another edition

2.0

I was conflicted with this picture book. Many of the messages were hateful and I believe the octopus dies at the end. On the other hand, some of the messages apologized for the angry words and the octopus writes love to her children. This book was an interesting concept but I am not sure it would make a good read aloud to children.

wordnerd153's review against another edition

2.0

An interesting concept that isn't executed particularly well. One day an octopus named Agnes finds a postcard written by Andrew, a young boy who is angry at someone and decided to write about it. Agnes mistakenly believes the postcard is for her and responds, but that postcard is read by another octopus. A chain of postcards between Agnes and various sea creatures follows, ending with an exchange between the octopus and the original boy. Over the course of the book facts about octopuses are included and there is an extensive "More about Octopuses" section in the back, along with a page of suggestions for further reading. This will appeal to young readers interested in octopuses, but most kids will find the writing uninspired.

logikitty's review against another edition

4.0

I personally like this one because I resonated with Agnes's irritability and overreaction to the small things (especially things that, in hindsight, are clearly not directed at her). I don't know that this is something that young children could appreciate about the book, though. So the grumpy tone throughout could be a bit confusing for younger readers.

I'm glad, as the story progresses, the energy changes. When Agnes gives out positive energy (the postcards aren't so aggressive), she receives positive energy (postcards). Versus when she was giving out negative energy, she was receiving really annoyed/grumpy cards. I'm not sure if her softening was due to her having babies or perhaps just ripening with old age.

I'm not going to lie, the ending was quite sad and I wish they could have shown her more places in the ocean.

adarose's review against another edition

4.0

This was really cute and a (relatively) accurate portrayal of an octopus life cycle

jessmcall's review against another edition

2.0

This was a weird little story. I liked all the info about octopuses but the postcards were random. I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

mldavisreads's review

3.0

Childrens Picture Book. Agnes the octopus comes across what likes a new home, but it is blocked by a postcard. She reads it, gets offended by it (even though it's not addressed to her), and responds. She then starts writing postcards to other animals as well. Very strange story that seems to exist mainly to share facts about octopuses, including that they often die after the eggs hatch. The illustrations are amazing, bright and colorful. The back matter includes interesting information about octopuses, including giving more detail to some facts mentioned in the story.

librarianryan's review

4.0

I could care less about the info bits in the back of the book about octopi. What i adore is the post cards back and forth from Agness the Octopuss to everyone. To the superior octopi, to the little boy above the ocean. This book is full of heart, and just plane fun. I bet it will get more kids interested in post cards.