Cowboy and Octopus By Jon Scieszki and Lane Smith

This book is very unique and inventive. I have never read a picture book like this before. The author and illustrator of this book are also the author and illustrator of the books The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! and The Stinky Cheese Man. The illustrations are made by using pop art and lettering that resembles letters that are cut out from magazines. In these illustrations you can see pieces of tape to make it seem as though the images are being held in place. You can tell that the cowboy and octopus are illustrated to resemble cut out pieces. Also, on the back cover, you can see the silhouettes of the cowboy and octopus along with scissors and scraps of paper. This picture book provides seven different short stories all about a friendship between a cowboy and an octopus. I like this picture book because although there is text, the pictures are part of the story. These illustrations are part of the story. Without the illustrations, the story would not be complete and the readers would be missing part of the plot. I like this picture book because it sends the message that two completely different people can end up being friends.