ROOF OCTOPUS by Lucy Branam #OctopusMonth

Back in September, I attended SCBWI Midouth conference, and lo and behold, there was another octopus book in the house! It was ROOF OCTOPUS, there with its author, Lucy Branam (illus. by Rogerio Coelho, brought to us by Sleeping Bear Press). So I invited Lucy to share with us about her new book. 

Welcome, Lucy!

The difficult: I would say the most difficult part about creating Roof Octopus was waiting for it to actually become a physical book.

The release date got changed three times because there were delays involved with getting the artwork finished. It started out having an August 2017 date, then September 2017, then November 2017, and then it was finally marked for release and actually came out on March 1^st, 2018. It was frustrating how it kept being moved, but the wait was worth it.

Lucy Branam

The delicious:  I would call the illustrations by Rogério Coelho delicious. They are so vibrant and full of life. All the colors and details really add to the story. The cover alone is very eye-catching with the big orange octopus and all the blue buildings and background. I could never have created such amazing pictures.

The unexpected: I’ve surprised myself by how much I have loved presenting my book to children. I’ve done a few school visits and participated in some Ready to Be Ready summer camps. I enjoy reading it to the kids and talking to them about how my book came about. I get a thrill when I do a brainstorming activity with kids, and I see them using their imaginations and having fun with it. I get happy feelings when someone tells me that they really liked my book.  

Oswald!

Anything else: I have acquired a few octopus-themed things since Roof Octopus came about: two stuffed animals, a paperweight, a gold table decoration, socks, an ink stamp, poster, magnet, and even a pair of earrings!  

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Thank you, Lucy! (I, too, have accumulated some octopus items! So. Much. Fun. :)