Karen Wallace says octopuses have always had a special place in her imagination, from the storybook monsters of folklore to the young octopus she once watched escape from a fish trap, climb down a ladder, and sink back into the safety of the sea. Mike Bostock, while illustrating GENTLE GIANT OCTOPUS, became fascinated by his subjects--the delicate changing color and texture of their skin, the rubbery, rippling way they move, and their transparent soap-bubble-like babies.