Golden Kapok Awards Winners Announced". Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival. 17 December 2020 . Retrieved 26 January 2021. Here, DARWIN'S DRAGONS author Lindsay Galvin explores what writing and publishing a novel in a global pandemic is all about. Over to you Lindsay ... Best thing of all - Vinny’s relationship with Ghost. It was magical and I’m not ashamed to say I shed a tear or two at a certain point. Set in the Victorian times, this middle-grade book is about a girl's new life in Brighton and her connection with an octopus at the local attraction.

For those who know nothing about your upcoming adventure, how would you describe My Friend the Octopus ? My Friend the Octopus is one of the best books I’ve read all year and I wholeheartedly recommend it. Running throughout the book is the mystery surrounding Mrs Fyfe’s disappearance. I enjoyed this aspect of the plot very much. Mr Jedders is a wonderfully sinister villain. And the plot twists relating to this part of the story were unexpected and brilliant. The film was also spoofed on the Documentary Now episode My Monkey Grifter. [18] Accolades [ edit ] Award nominations for My Octopus Teacher Award Vinnie is drawn into a world revolving around cloth that she finds out is not so nice and genteel. However, a mysterious person posts reports in the papers with her drawings before Charlie can. Reports that no one else should know about, pictures no one else can have seen. Who is the mysterious writer?SA filmmaker's documentary captivates the world". Algoa FM. 22 September 2020 . Retrieved 26 December 2020. A gripping Victorian mystery with a touching connection between a young girl and an octopus at its heart, My Friend the Octopus effortlessly blends exciting adventure with a rip-roaring historical mystery and non-fiction elements. Here she makes some friends, not all human and she explores her artistic abilities. Vinnie's growth throughout the book is perfect as she matures and discovers more about herself. Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap...

Such an adorable story, with some intriguing plot twists sprinkled in. The bond between Lavinia and the octopus is the sweetest thing.💕 At the heart of the book is the friendship between Vinnie, Charlie and Temitayo. I loved all three children – their resourcefulness, loyalty and strong sense of right and wrong. I particularly liked Temitayo’s ambition and her commitment to carving out her own path in life and not just accepting the staid and restrictive future that others had planned for her. Our heroine learns so much about the octopus I couldn't help but think about three other middle grade books where the main character connects with sea creatures. The Line Tender is about sharks, Song for a Whale is about whales, and The Thing About Jellyfish Octopus Teacher' Lets Filmmaker Into Secret World". Voice of America – English. 9 September 2020 . Retrieved 17 October 2020.

The octopus becomes a character and the special bond with the protagonist is touchingly credible. I was also touched by the way the two maternal figures contrast, and their impact on young Vinnie. Social issues are highlighted, such as the plight of poor children in a world where profit ruled over their welfare, trapping them into a system; however, attitudes were slowly changing. Vinnie's clothes aren't really suitable for cooking, riding her Aunt's bicycle or wandering around an aquarium and her mother certainly wouldn't approve of swimming. She makes friends with Charlie (wannabe reporter) and Temitayo (the ward of an English gent who lives with a lady in Brighton). By the time the pandemic hit this year, my new book Darwin’s Dragons was already finished, printed and ... Neglia, Matt (18 January 2021). "The 2020 Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS) Winners". Next Best Picture . Retrieved 26 January 2021. Foster was also a producer via his involvement with the Sea Change Project, [12] and his wife, Indian environmental journalist Swati Thiyagarajan, was production manager for the film. [13]

Lindsay Galvin’s second middle-grade adventure, set in 1893, introduces talented artist, twelve-year-old Lavinia (Vinnie), as she helps in her aunt’s Brighton tearoom, awaiting the return of her milliner mother from a mysterious Paris trip. But the plot doesn't let us down either. There are several plot lines running side by side and they are all interesting and don't distract from each other. I feel middle grade is at its best when it doesn't talk down to its audience and gets dark... and this one certainly does. For one it involves real science, and nature in all its beauty, but also its cruelty. Yes, I shed several tears. It also shows the cruelty some workers were victim to at the time. You may be familiar to the Matchgirls that went on strike in 1888. In this book we visit a workplace that dies fabric Paris green, used a lot in Vinnie's job as a milliner. Paris Green was made by combining copper acetate with arsenic. And we get to see quite a few side effects working with these toxins can have on a young girl, including death. We also get to experience a cruel manager, including beating his employees. So that is certainly something to be aware of. This book was donated to our school by Julia, at the new local bookshop Ottie and the Bea in Framlingham. I kept it to read first! As with Darwin’s Dragons, the cover and inside flaps by Gordy Wright, are worth a mention and are works of art in their own right. The illustration and information is just breath-takingly displayed.The (K)helpful forests of South Africa". CapeNature. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021 . Retrieved 19 November 2020.

The book is beautiful in the first instance with wonderful illustrations at the start of each chapter.My Octopus Teacher' Stuns Audiences, Reinforces Power of Nature". EcoWatch. 24 September 2020 . Retrieved 19 November 2020. My Friend The Octopus is set during the 1800s, which is a time period I generally find quite fascinating. However, apart from the constant use of the term ‘devil-fish’ to describe the octopus, and the awful working conditions of the young girls who made Paris Green fabrics, I struggled to find a great deal of history in this historical fiction. At points, I completely forgot I was reading a historical fiction at all. Although, I do admire the author’s attempt at bringing a more unknown side of history to her young readers, what with the heavy focus on Henry Lee’s book and on understanding the octopus. Unfortunately, I don’t feel that the historical context was woven into the book well enough, and as a result I doubt I have learned any facts that will stay in my memory for more than a few days.