An Octopus Named Houdini by Zana Fraillon
As someone who dislikes aquariums and zoos, this book was not only sweet and magical, but a reinforcement of my beliefs. I absolutely hated Paul when he kept trying to find excuses to keep Houdini in her tank. “We saved her from the sea”? You did not. You took her home away from her. And I went absolutely livid when he argued that Houdini had to stay because replacing her would be too expensive for the aquarium. What a thought, keeping someone caged for profit! This book made me so angry, which made the ending all the more satisfying. I loved the friendship between Juno and Houdini, it reminded me of Marcellus and Tova’s bond in Remarkably Bright Creatures.
An Octopus Named Houdini by Zana Fraillon, (List Price: $17.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9798347114757, October 2026)
Reviewed by Erika, Righton Books in St Simons Island, GA
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“I’m drawn to mischief and mystery, the sense of something strange and eerie going on. I sort of wish that I could make children’s books as genuinely frightening and funny as R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps, but I can’t be serious enough to make something deeply terrifying. I go for that, and silliness naturally comes out in the process.” 
