What About an Octopus? A Fact-Filled Underwater Adventure

The illustrations by Dawn Lo in What About an Octopus? A Fact-Filled Underwater Adventure work perfectly for both the story of a little girl having a fun day at the ocean and the nonfiction content shared in some fascinating “Facts” sidebars about octopuses. Whether you are sharing the little girl’s adventures with a kindergarten class or helping a young reader research information about octopuses, the illustrations add a touch of whimsy and tie the fictitious adventure to the nonfiction content.

Author Deborah Kerbel includes a page of “Extra Octopus Facts” at the end of the book.

Octopuses are related to squid and cuttlefish. They all have blue blood and the ability to squirt ink.

To ease the minds of anyone distressed by the use of “octopuses” for the spelling of the plural of octopus, one of the additional facts explains: “When talking about more than one of these animals, it’s now more common to say “octopuses,” rather than “octopi” or “octopodes.” (Full disclosure, that was bothering me.)

Kerbel leaves readers with a question as the final “Extra Octopus Facts”, and the final word in this book.

October 8 is World Octopus Day — can you guess why that date was chosen?

An excellent end to an excellent book.

Octopuses are fascinating to people young and old. If you don’t already have an excess of octopus books, I strongly recommend making room on your shelf for What About an Octopus? A Fact-Filled Underwater Adventure.