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Gina Giordano is the author of Yet, published in 2022. She is an educator in Virginia Beach City Public Schools with over 20 years experience working with elementary school aged children, most of those years in gifted education. She has written many stories and poems over the years to teach her students about a variety of topics and is now putting them into the world for all to enjoy. She graduated from Mary Washington College (now University of Mary Washington) with a Bachelors of Arts in History.
Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite
Otis the Trash Talking Octopus by Gina Giordano reminds us that there is a lot of trash dumped in the ocean and humans put it there. It’s killing the sea life and destroying what once was so beautiful. Out for a boat ride one sunny day, Pedro, Sienna, and Omari see something interesting on the horizon. At first, they think it’s an island and they want to go explore it. When they get closer, they discover a mound of trash. The sea creatures around the trash island have an appalling story to share. Otis, the octopus, leads the account and the young people are shocked by what they hear. They are inspired to try to clean things up, to make other humans more aware of the dire situation that is threatening our oceans, a situation that affects all living beings, including the humans that caused it.
Gina Giordano’s picture book Otis the Trash Talking Octopus is both entertaining and educational. Using an octopus to share the story of the threat to our oceans makes an even bigger impact on young readers who need to hear, understand, and appreciate, how important it is to protect the planet and our oceans. The author begins with a clever poem that sums up the dire situation. From then, the story is told in the third person narrative, following the family’s boat excursion that leads them to the trash island and Otis, the talking octopus. The language is simple so young readers can follow along and the illustrations are vivid and colorful, and paint a dire picture of what humans are doing to our oceans. The story ends with a challenge: “What can you do in your local community to help?” The message is clear: reduce, reuse, recycle, and take care of our planet. We can all help.
