Consider the Octopus

Consider the Octopus
Author: Nora Raleigh Baskin
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2022-04-05
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1250793521

When chance, or fate, throws two twelve-year-olds together on board a scientific research ship at the edge of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it’s not all smooth sailing! Jeremy “JB” Barnes is looking forward to spending the summer before seventh grade hanging on the beach. But his mother, a scientist, has called for him to join her aboard a research ship where, instead, he’ll spend his summer seasick and bored as he stares out at the endless plastic, microbeads, and other floating debris, both visible and not, that make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Miles and miles away, twelve-year-old Sidney Miller is trying to come up with an alternate activity worthy of convincing her overprotective parents that she can skip summer camp. When Jeremy is asked to find the contact information for a list of important international scientists and invite them to attend a last-minute Emergency Global Summit, he's excited to have a chance to actually do something that matters to the mission. How could he know that the Sidney Miller he messages is not the famous marine biologist he has been tasked with contacting, but rather a girl making podcasts from her bedroom—let alone that she would want to sneak aboard the ship? Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner's Consider the Octopus is a comedy of errors, mistaken identity, and synchronicity. Above all, it is a heartfelt story about friendship and an empowering call to environmental protection, especially to our young people who are already stepping up to help save our oceans and our Earth.

The Soul of an Octopus

The Soul of an Octopus
Author: Sy Montgomery
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2016-07-12
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1501161148

Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction * New York Times Bestseller * A Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year * One of the Best Books of the Month on Goodreads * Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year * An American Library Association Notable Book of the Year “Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk did for raptors.” —New Statesman, UK “One of the best science books of the year.” —Science Friday, NPR Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this “fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining” (The Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans. In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food. Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.

The Octopus Museum

The Octopus Museum
Author: Brenda Shaughnessy
Publisher: Knopf
Total Pages: 97
Release: 2021-06-29
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 1524711497

Now in paperback, this collection of bold and scathingly beautiful feminist poems imagines what comes after our current age of environmental destruction, racism, sexism, and divisive politics. Informed as much by Brenda Shaughnessy's worst fears as a mother as they are by her superb craft as a poet, the poems in The Octopus Museum blaze forth from her pen: in these pages, we see that what was once a generalized fear for our children is now hyper-reasonable, specific, and multiple: school shootings, nuclear attack, loss of health care, a polluted planet. As Shaughnessy conjures our potential future, she movingly (and often with humor) envisions an age where cephalopods might rule over humankind, a fate she suggests we may just deserve after destroying their oceans. These heartbreaking, terrified poems are the battle cry of a woman who is fighting for the survival of the world she loves, and a stirring exhibition of who we are as a civilization.

Think Like an Octopus

Think Like an Octopus
Author: Wallace Roark
Publisher:
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2010-08
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9781600474750

The author passes on thinking skills that enhance one's life, both professionally and personally.

We'll Paint the Octopus Red

We'll Paint the Octopus Red
Author: Stephanie A. Bodeen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 32
Release: 1998
Genre: Education
ISBN:

Story about Emma whose baby brother has Down Syndrome. Suitable for ages 3-6.

Inky the Octopus

Inky the Octopus
Author: Erin Guendelsberger
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 35
Release: 2018-04-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1492675032

Perfect for Earth Day, journey along with Inky the octopus as he makes a daring escape from his aquarium to the open sea—based on a real-life aquatic adventure! Published in partnership with the National Aquarium of New Zealand. Follow Inky the octopus as he escapes from his tank at the National Aquarium of New Zealand to the open ocean! Based on a true story, this ocean picture book for children ages 4-7 chronicles the adventure that the real-life Inky might have taken on his escape to freedom. The best octopus book for kids looking to learn more about aquatic animals, marine biology, and aquariums, this delightful tale about a daring octopus's big dreams makes a wonderful gift for children for back-to-school, holidays, and summer reading! Bonus educational pages in the back include the real-life stories of Inky and other daring octopuses, as well as fascinating facts about these masters of disguise! Perfect for at-home learning or the classroom! A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year (Ages 5-9) A Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award Winner

Consider the Platypus

Consider the Platypus
Author: Maggie Ryan Sandford
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2019-08-27
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0762493631

*FINALIST FOR THE 2020 GENERAL NONFICTION MINNESOTA BOOK AWARDS* Interested in the origins of the species? Consider the Platypus uses pets such as dogs and cats as well as animal outliers like the axolotl and naked mole rat to wittily tackle mind-bending concepts about how evolution, biology, and genetics work. Consider the Platypus explores the history and features of more than 50 animals to provide insight into our current understanding of evolution. Using Darwin's theory as a springboard, Maggie Ryan Sandford details scientists' initial understanding of the development of creatures and how that has expanded in the wake of genetic sequencing, including the: Peppered Moth, which changed color based on the amount of soot in the London air; California Two-Spotted Octopus, which has the amazing ability to alter its DNA/RNA not over generations but during its lifetime; miniscule tardigrade, which is so hearty it can withstand radiation, lack of water and oxygen, and temperatures as low as -328°F and as high 304 °F; and, of course, the platypus, which has so many disparate features, from a duck's bill to venomous spur to mammary patches, that scientists originally thought it was a hoax. Surprising, witty, and impeccably researched, Sandford describes each animal's significant features and how these have adapted to its environment, such as the zebra finch's beak shape, which was observed by Charles Darwin and is a cornerstone of his Theory of Evolution. With scientifically accurate but charming art by Rodica Prato, Consider the Platypus showcases species as diverse as the sloth, honey bee, cow, brown kiwi, and lungfish, to name a few, to tackle intimidating concepts is a accessible way.

The Benefits of Being an Octopus

The Benefits of Being an Octopus
Author: Ann Braden
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2018-09-18
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1510737529

Edutopia's "25 Essential Middle School Reads from the Last Decade," NPR Best Book of 2018, Bank Street List for Best Children's Books of 2019, Named to the Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher List, Maine's Student Book Award List, Louisiana Young Reader's Choice Award List, Rhode Island Middle School Book Award 2020 List, 2020 Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Nominee, 2021 South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee, 2020-2021 Truman Award​ (Missouri) Nominee, Middle School Virginia Readers’ Choice Titles for 2020–2021​, Charlie May Simon Award 2020–2021 List, South Carolina Book Awards Nominee, 2020–2021, and 2023 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award nominee​. Some people can do their homework. Some people get to have crushes on boys. Some people have other things they've got to do. Seventh-grader Zoey has her hands full as she takes care of her much younger siblings after school every day while her mom works her shift at the pizza parlor. Not that her mom seems to appreciate it. At least there's Lenny, her mom's boyfriend—they all get to live in his nice, clean trailer. At school, Zoey tries to stay under the radar. Her only friend Fuchsia has her own issues, and since they're in an entirely different world than the rich kids, it's best if no one notices them. Zoey thinks how much easier everything would be if she were an octopus: eight arms to do eight things at once. Incredible camouflage ability and steady, unblinking vision. Powerful protective defenses. Unfortunately, she's not totally invisible, and one of her teachers forces her to join the debate club. Even though Zoey resists participating, debate ultimately leads her to see things in a new way: her mom’s relationship with Lenny, Fuchsia's situation, and her own place in this town of people who think they're better than her. Can Zoey find the courage to speak up, even if it means risking the most stable home she's ever had? This moving debut novel explores the cultural divides around class and the gun debate through the eyes of one girl, living on the edges of society, trying to find her way forward.

Octopuses

Octopuses
Author: Sandra Markle
Publisher: Lerner Publications
Total Pages: 42
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0822560631

Describes the different types of octopuses and how they search for food and defend themselves against predators.

O'Shae the Octopus

O'Shae the Octopus
Author: Brandee Buble
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781927018569

O'Shae is an awesome octopus, who happens to also have two extra arms. With his best friend Shelton the Shark by his side, he discovers as hard as it at times for others to accept your differences, embracing what sets you apart can truly make you sensational! Dive in to see what the amazing things that can happen to O'Shae, once he starts believing in himself!