Polypus Fur: A Latin Novella

by Rachel Beth Cunning, Sara Rude-McCune (Illustrator)

Apicius is the guardian of a warehouse filled with pickled fish. He'd much rather be a cook than guarding a bunch of merchants' fish. He's not a cook though. So when an eight-armed thief starts stealing all the pickled fish, Apicius has to rise to the occasion and defend the warehouse. And he's most definitely not up for the this challenge.

110 pages, Paperback

Published August 27, 2022

Reviews

[Amy Bernard Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ratatouille with a Thieving Octopus
This book was hilarious: the "monster" creeping from the sewer up through the toilet, reoccuring urges to throw amphorae/knives, a fixation on pickled fish and an octopus who calls everyone
"idiotae". I am very disappointed though that Polypus rejected the name "Grumio". It was a genuinely fun read. Apicius wants to be a cook, but he's assigned to guard a warehouse of pickled fish. Upon discovering that octopus ink enhances the taste of pickled fish, he first tries capturing and then collaborating with Polypus Fur. Polypus is all in for getting free pickled fish...even donating a tentacle to their deception. True to the octopus nature, he is the brains of the operation.

This book would be good for a student at the start of their 3rd year. Although there were some uncommon words, they were repeated enough to become rote. Each chapter had at least one illustration with an accompanying caption from the text.

[Brandon Ho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polypus Fur by Rachel Beth Cunning, a silly book about a guard, an octopus, and pickled fish.

Polypus Fur has a joyful and joking mood. Although the main character, Apicius, is faced with problems, they are so outlandish and bizarre that they do not provoke deep emotions. Apicius is a guard for a warehouse filled with amphorae with pickled fish inside. Instead of having this job, Apicius wishes to be a cook instead and is determined to become one. This plan is put aside when Apicius is forced to find and catch who has been stealing the pickled fish in the warehouse.

Grammar

Polypus Fur does not feature much-advanced vocabulary and is an easy book to read with repeating vocab. There is a glossary and dictionary to figure out words that you do not know. Also, on each page, there is sometimes words already defined for you.

[Brandyn O'Hara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book itself has an interesting plot, but the characters are not very fleshed out and some parts of the book seem to drag on for too long while other parts feel rushed. There are a few pictures throughout the book that are well drawn and have descriptive captions. In terms of difficulty, there are a variety of uncommon words or phrases, but there is a dictionary at the back of the book and with all the repetition, the book becomes easier to read as it goes on. Overall, Polypus Fur is a decent read that I would recommend.

[Magister E · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the idea behind this book. My students' main feedback is that is is overly repetitive at times without the repetition moving the story forward.