The Tickleoctopus

by Audrey Wood, Don Wood (Illustrator)

Bup the caveboy and his parents know nothing about having fun, until a wiggly creature changes their lives--and the course of human history, in a whimsical tale by the creators of Piggies.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Audrey Wood studied art and drama at the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has owned an operated a book and import store, taught chldren's drama and art, and traveled throughout Mexico and Guatemala studying Indian folk art. She now lives in Hawaii with her talented family (husband Don and son Bruce, who have both collaborated with Audrey by illustrating some of her books).

Reviews

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aw, Tickleoctopus. You got me every time as a kid and I still have a deep love of you today. The laughs we shared and the way you pulled my whole class together as my mother read each word with a great caveman voice. What a great story! I would definitely recommend it to anyone with young kids or someone who still loves picture books. This is my favorite!

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute! A small child in prehistoric times finds a strange creature who tickles him and for the first time in human history, someone smiled! This wonderfully illustrated book creates a fun scenario where people learn to have fun.

[Ursula · Rating 5 out of 5]

 
Delightful! I haven't read anything by this team that I have not thoroughly enjoyed! :D This one is funny an silly and... delightful! :D
 

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun spin on history as to how people learned to smile, laugh, and play. Also very fun to read to mini and tickle in between pictures <3

[Kenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Tickleoctopus" is an extremely fun way to tell a story about people simply being happy. The strongest aspect of the story is how engaging it is for different types of learners. Each page is full of vibrant pictures for visual interaction. The book itself is cut into a different shape and holes in pages make it appealing to tactile learners. The story is told by cavemen and each dialog is in caveman language before being translated into english, which appeals to auditory learners. I enjoyed the entire book and would definitely reccomend it to anyone wanting a fun yet intellectual reading material.

[Jordan Paxston · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tickleoctopus by Andrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood
Published April 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Picture book, traditional tale, noodlehead
-Bup, an unhappy prehistoric caveboy does not know how to have fun, until he meets a wondrous creature with wiggly arms, who changes his life and possibly history.
-I chose this playful tale for capturing me and other readers by making us laugh. It would be great for a read-aloud to act out and perform the grunts of the caveman. Students could create their own prehistoric creature that changes history, inspiring creativity.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very weird and strange book. I almost gave it one star but there are parts that are interesting and nice. ALTHOUGH you will have to have a strange sense of humor to really appreciate this book, it was too out there for us to like. Even my grown daughter was here visiting as I was reading it to my almost 3 year old granddaughter and she was like "there's something wrong with that story" Illustrations are overwhelming as well, although drawn nicely they are overwhelming and sometimes scarey for a smaller kid. We just didn't like this but if you like 'odd' stuff you would like it.

[Mason, Natalie & Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fun one to read - my attempt at reading "caveman" caused quite a few giggles from my son, and some of the adults that happened to be around while I tried it. The story was cute, though - the tickle-octopus causes cavemen to smile, laugh and play, something they've never done before!

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute. It has little fold out pages and many surprises. My copy is hashed because we've read it so many times.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Audrey Wood books but this wasn't my favorite. I didn't like having to translate all the grunting and though the idea was good it didn't have the magic of many of her other books.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mommy didn't like this story at all.

[Robynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Their son, Bruce modeled for the boy character. A delightful book about how one can be transformed from grumpy to happy.