Friday, October 4, 2024

8th October World Octopus Day





Octopuses are one of the earth’s great survivors. Indeed, despite their relatively short lifespan, octopus fossils date back more than 300 million years, meaning that they pre-date even dinosaurs. 

Perhaps one of the reasons that these unique creatures have survived so long under the sea is because they are also believed to be highly intelligent. With around 500 million neurons located in their brains and arms, they are able to bypass their instincts, learn lessons and solve problems in a way that not very many other sea life creatures are able to. 

Children are fascinated by octopuses and any display of octopus books in the library is always popular, especially any that tell 'real-life' tales of octopus and their feats. Inky, a common New Zealand octopus who escaped from his tank at an aquarium would probably be the most popular and luckily he is well written about.

See:

Inky the Octopus by Erin Guendelsberger and David Leonard

Inky's Great Escape by Casey Lyell and Sebastian Serra

Inky's Amazing Escape by Sy Montgomery and Amy Schiller-Safford

 

or there's these generic escape stories

Octopus Escapes  by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer and Frank Dormer

The Octopus Escapes by Maile Meloy and Felicita Sala

Octopus Escapes Again! by Laurie Ellen Angus

These beautifully illustrated picture books will allow your students to learn about these amazing creatures:







Some new stories:


And a serial:

I have written about Cephalopod Awareness Days before in 2016 here which goes for the whole week from the 8th to 12th with a different focus each day. More books to look for here.











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