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.

8th - 12th October Cephalopod Awareness Days

'Every year from the 8th to the 12th of October, International Cephalopod Awareness Days come around to teach the world about cephalopods. This event is all about celebrating and sharing how fascinating and incredible they are!

Cephalopods are a class of marine invertebrates that are easy to recognize by all their arms and tentacles. They are part of the Phylum Mollusca, which means they’re related to other animals with soft bodies and shells, like snails and clams. Unlike the other molluscs, though, cephalopods have large brains and are known for their intelligence. Cephalopods are also interesting because they have three hearts and blue blood. They have highly developed eyes, and they have an amazing ability to camouflage because their skin can quickly change color and texture.'

Each of the days is designated:

October 8 – Octopus Day, for all the eight-armed species

October 9 – Nautilus Night, a time for all the lesser-known extant cephalopods

October 10 – Squid Day/Cuttlefish Day, or Squidturday, covering the tentacular species

October 11 – Myths and Legends Day, for all the fantastical cephalopods of movies, literature and legend. Release the Kraken!

October 12 – Fossil Day (to coincide with National Fossil Day), for all the incredible suckers that have gone extinct.

Kindergarten's unit of enquiry this term is to do with the sea, so there isn't anything left in my library to display, but if I could these books would be there to borrow:

Two that I especially like are new and they do what a lot of good nonfiction for younger children does so well. Look for Octopuses One to Ten by Ellen Jackson and Robin Page and Octopus Escapes Again by Laurie Ellen Angus.
And I would really like to see this one, Giant Squid because I am a fan of Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann and I'm sure it will be good.

We have a lovely octopus toy so I will need to do this display at some time earlier in the year.

P.S. Why do we spell molluscs with a 'c' and Americans put a 'k' so it is mollusks?

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8th to the 12th of October, International Cephalopod Awareness Days

Every year from the 8th to the 12th of October, International Cephalopod Awareness Days come around to teach the world about cephalopods. This event is all about celebrating and sharing how fascinating and incredible they are!

October 8   – Octopus Day, for all the eight-armed species

October 9   – Nautilus Night, a time for all the lesser-known extant cephalopods

October 10 – Squid Day/Cuttlefish Day, or Squittleday, covering the tentacular species

October 11 – Kraken Day, for all the fantastical cephalopods of myth, movies, literature and legend

October 12 – Fossil Day (to coincide with National Fossil Day), for all the incredible suckers that have gone extinct but left an impression with us.

I have written about this week before here and about Octopus Day here, but since then new books have been added to the library, so here are some to look for on each of these days.

Octopus:

Nautilus:

Squid:

Kraken:

Fossils:

1st April Karen Wallace Tad Hills

Two birthdays...no years of birth. Karen Wallace is a Canadian-born English author of fiction and non-fiction books. She is most popular in my library for her four dinosaur picture books: I am an Anklosaurus; I am a Quetzalcoatlus etc and her readers about Sherlock Hound. The children are always disappointed when they realise that they have read them all and that there aren't any more. Personally I really like the books she did for the Read and Wonder series ... My Hen is Dancing; Think of an Eel; Bears in the Forest and Gentle Giant Octopus.

In fact when I looked on the library catalogue I began to think Karen Wallace is a prolific writer, we have so many books of hers!

In comparison, American Tad Hills has many fewer books in our library, but we would have most of those he has authored and illustrated, including his newest How Rocket Learned to Read which is a big hit with children learning to read. We have toys to accompany the Duck and Goose titles so those books are always out being enjoyed at someone's house.