My Friend the Octopus

  From the bestselling author of Darwin's Dragons comes a high-stakes aquatic adventure, perfect for fans of The Murderer's Ape! England, 1893, and aquarium fever is at its height. Twelve-year-old Vinnie Fyfe works in the tea-shop at Brighton aquarium, and waits for her milliner mother to return from Paris. The arrival of a giant octopus changes her life for ever. Discovering a talent for art, Vinnie begins to draw the extraordinary beast. She soon realises she can communicate with the octopus through colour and – as a gripping mystery begins to unfold – discovers what true courage really means ... The second middle-grade historical adventure by critically acclaimed Lindsay Galvin, author of Darwin's Dragons A gripping Victorian mystery with a touching connection between a young girl and an octopus at its heart Strong STEM and natural history themes with an underwater twist Effortlessly blends exciting adventure with a rip-roaring historical mystery and non-fiction elements  PRAISE FOR DARWIN'S DRAGONS: 'A striking and original adventure ... just the sort of story I love.' EMMA CARROLL 'WHAT a voyage! [Darwin's Dragons] is everything you hope it will be ...' LUCY STRANGE '[A] beautifully fictionalised story' THE TELEGRAPH