Song of a Thousand Seas by Zana Fraillon

Days are for watching listening playing planning but

nights are for adventure

Houdini the octopus is a girl but in the world of this book, which we see through her eyes, she refers to herself as we (due to the fact octopuses have nine brains).

Not Welcome

Our nine Octopus brains have a lot we'd like

to say to the Waves of People who

come every day to stare and gawk to

squeak and squawk to squeal to bang on our glass

we'd have a lot to say if only they

knew how to listen

The first thing we'd say is

GO AWAY!

Houdini lives in an aquarium. It is not large and I find that so awful:

We want to say that in the day we

do not hunt at all. The Sea is so very

big so very full but our tank is so

very small so

very empty.

Far too empty

for too small for

hunting.

Like being safe is all

that matters. Like a tank two arms long in

all directions is

any kind of Home. Like

the bubbles from the pump

are enough of an ebb and flow to make us happy

when we know

to be happy is to be free.

Her keeper (is that the right term) is named Paul. In fact I dislike that title keeper - and I am not a fan at all of animals in captivity so I come to this story with a high level of empathy and also quite a bit of rage. Have you twigged about the name Houdini - yes she is an escape artist and who can blame her. Octopuses are not meant to languish in an aquarium for our (human) viewing pleasure. She needs to get back into the ocean - think about the title - her heart needs to hear the song of a thousand seas. 

Luckily Houdini is very clever and yes she can escape but she also knows she has to be very careful of Paul because he is sure to 'fortify' her tank even more and then escape might be impossible. Then we discover Houdini has two human friends, Joe the cleaner and Juno, Paul's daughter, and they do have enough emotional intelligence and also enough understanding of the plight of animals in captivity to know Houdini needs her freedom. I think this is because Joe and Juno also have experienced pain. 

Every night Houdini tries to find her way to the pipes in the bathroom because they lead to the sea but she doesn't quite make it before she needs to be back in the water and so Joe carefully carries her back to her tank. As a reader I was holding my breath hoping that she would make it and be free again. 

Zana Fraillon is one of Australia’s most interesting writers for young children, experimenting with form and voice and offering layered and intelligent narratives. ‘Song of a Thousand Seas’ is a lyrical verse novel of homecoming and friendship focusing on Houdini the octopus who lives in an aquarium, but she misses her home in the wild sea. This is a thought provoking and compelling story ideal for readers aged 8-12, and a great read aloud for teachers. Paul Macdonald 

Here are some very detailed teachers notes.

Do you ever think about author names? I think the name Zana Fraillon is a perfect one for an author. It sounds exotic and mysterious to me. Also I am giving this cover by Aviva Reed top marks - it is fantastic. Australia is a relatively small country and yes I agree we do have some really good authors who write for children but there are a few that are way beyond just good - authors whose work can stand up with the very best in the world - one of those authors is Zana Fraillon. Make sure you pop this book onto your library shelves - the readers in our lives and libraries deserve to read the very best books and this is one of them.

You can see Zana Fraillon talking about her book on this video. Houdini was a real octopus - you must share this with the readers in your library. Thank you to University of Queensland Press (UQP) for sending an advance copy of Song of a Thousand Seas (due for publication 2nd September 2025)

LAUNCH - Song Of a Thousand Seas will be officially launched! Come join the wonderful @kmildenhall and me in conversation @readingskids in Carlton on Saturday the 6th of September from 2pm. There will be sea stones to decorate, awesome octopus tattoos, cupcakes and an octopus quiz with octopus prizes so be sure to brush up on all those octopus facts! All books signed will include the one of a kind ‘signature’ by the real Houdini. Tickets are free, but registrations are necessary.

I have talked about lots of verse novels here on this blog - click that search term on my sidebar.

Companion books:

My Friend the Octopus

Odder

The One and Only Ivan (look for the sequels too)

In 2018 Zana Fraillon's book The Bone Sparrow was our IBBY Australia Honour book title. This means her book goes into a very important international book catalogue and also becomes part of a travelling exhibition. 

Zana Fraillon is an internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning author of books for children and young adults. Zana's books have won the Amnesty CILIP Honour Award, the ABIA Book of the Year for Older Children, the Readings YA Prize, NSW Premier's Literary Awards and the CBCA Honour Book Award. The Bone Sparrow was chosen as the biennial book to represent Australia for the International Board on Books for Young People. Zana was born and lives in Naarm (Melbourne) but spent her early childhood in San Francisco. She has degrees in history and teaching and is undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing at La Trobe University.

Other books I have talked about by Zana Fraillon:

The Way of Dog

A small collection of Happiness

This should be the CBCA Younger Readers Book of the Year 

but alas it didn't even make the notables list - I am still in shock about that.

The Raven's Song

Very young readers might also look for another book by Zana Fraillon called Etta and the Octopus illustrated by Andrew Joyner.