Sid the Squid and the Search for the Perfect Job
By David G. Derrick, Jr.
Immedium, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59702-021-3
Sid the Squid and the Search for the Perfect Job is the debut children’s book by DreamWorks animator David G. Derrick, Jr. Its title pretty much sums up the plot. Sid is a squid living somewhere off the coast of San Francisco. Wanting a dream job, Sid leaves the water to seek his fortune in the big city with the help of a child guide named Alice.
Sid and Alice approach each new job – fire fighter, line cook, dog walker, actor – with enthusiasm, only to realize that there are some real limitations to squids performing them. By the end of the story, Sid has found the perfect job, and his young readers are reassured that they too will find jobs that suit them.
Digital Imaging Creates Vivid Illustrations
For his first attempt at creating a picture book, Derrick is clearly at ease working with the same digital imaging process used to contribute to such DreamWorks films as How to Train a Dragon and Megamind. The illustrations – the cartoon-like saturated colors, the attention to detail, and the very cute, incredibly expressive squid – capture children’s attention.
Sid never says a word, but the squid’s eyes – and the arch of his eyebrows – convey everything Sid is feeling. Most of the time, Sid’s wide eyes register the effort he exerts in attempting to perform each job well, but the sidelong “I’m watching you” glance he gives a hungry pelican while returning his fish friends to the sea is priceless. When Sid sits dejectedly on a park bench, the wrinkles under Sid’s eyes and his tentacles curled up like knees against his chest show his distress at not finding the perfect job. The reader wants to cry along with him.
A Children's Book that Enterains Adults Too
The visual in-jokes for adults are reminiscent of the way a typical DreamWorks animated feature includes some thrills for the adults who take their children to the movie. When Sid auditions for a part in a movie, the movie’s poster (pictured behind him) reads “calamonstro.” The library’s computer screen, shown while Sid is researching possible careers, flashes “Squidle” in Google’s familiar primary colors.
Unfortunately, while the pictures are vibrant, the text falls flat. It is clunky and awkward to read aloud – which is what will need to be done for the book to reach its intended audience. The story is also inconsistent when presenting the problems with each of Sid’s jobs. Sid gives up fire-fighting because “Squids need to have wet skin to be happy.” However, apparently dry skin is not a problem when Sid cooks next to a hot stove or attempts a few other indoor jobs.
While the majority of preschoolers and early elementary-age children whom the book is directed at are probably not concerned that they will not find their dream job, the book does provide an empowering message that adults (particularly the recently college-educated, but jobless) will want to pass on to their children. And for the children themselves, the book provides an endearingly earnest squid they can root for.
Nicole Fravel - Ms. Fravel is an educator, curriculum developer, and parent with over 15 years of experience in elementary and early childhood ...
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