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

“Montgomery’s expertise and the gorgeous illustrations make this a fine purchase for libraries serving early elementary students.” —School Library Journal “The mixed-media illustrations make good use of dynamic spreads, color, and texture—perfect for a book on a master of camouflage. Montgomery seamlessly incorporates interesting facts about octopuses into the narrative.” —Booklist Learn all about Inky the Octopus, an international sensation known for escaping from the New Zealand aquarium in April 2016, in this fascinating picture book from National Book Award nominee and octopus expert Sy Montgomery. Inky had been at the New Zealand aquarium since 2014 after being taken in by a fisherman who found him at sea. Inky had been getting used to his new environment, but the staff quickly figured out that he had to be kept amused or he would get bored. Then one night in 2016 Inky, about the size of a basketball, decided he’d had enough. He slithered eight feet across the floor and down a drainpipe more than 160 feet long to his home in the sea. Acclaimed author Sy Montogmery reminds readers that Inky didn’t escape—but instead, like the curious animal he is, wanted to explore the rest of the vast ocean he called his home.

Inky, worn out from his exciting life in the ocean, has retired to the aquarium. There he quietly regales his tank mate Blotchy with tales of his past adventures. Then Blotchy dares Inky to make one more daring escape. Will Inky succeed?

Little Crab asks what an octopus can do with his eight arms and gets a surprising, rhyming, reply.

Out of this tank, I must be free. I must explore the open sea! Follow Inky the octopus as he escapes from the National Aquarium of New Zealand to the ocean! Based on a true story, Inky the Octopuschronicles the adventure that the real-life Inky might have taken on his escape to freedom in the open ocean!

"[Here is] a charming introduction to the truly amazing octopus [from its intelligence to its ability to change colors to the camouflaging black ink it squirts to escape predators]. Lauber's chatty, fact-filled text makes the book a good read-aloud, and Keller's amusing and colorful drawings enhance it—a perfect match of text and illustration." —SLJ. Children's Books of 1990 (Library of Congress)

"Cephalopods are often misunderstood creatures. Three biologists set the record straight."—Science News Largely shell-less relatives of clams and snails, the marine mollusks in the class Cephalopoda—Greek for “head-foot”—are colorful creatures of many-armed dexterity, often inky self-defense, and highly evolved cognition. They are capable of learning, of retaining information—and of rapid decision-making to avoid predators and find prey. They have eyes and senses rivaling those of vertebrates like birds and fishes, they morph texture and body shape, and they change color faster than a chameleon. In short, they captivate us. From the long-armed mimic octopus—able to imitate the appearance of swimming flounders and soles—to the aptly named flamboyant cuttlefish, whose undulating waves of color rival the graphic displays of any LCD screen, there are more than seven hundred species of cephalopod. Featuring a selection of species profiles, Octopus, Squid, and Cuttlefish reveals the evolution, anatomy, life history, behaviors, and relationships of these spellbinding animals. Their existence proves that intelligence can develop in very different ways: not only are cephalopods unusually large-brained invertebrates, they also carry two-thirds of their neurons in their arms. A treasure trove of scientific fact and visual explanation, this worldwide illustrated guide to cephalopods offers a comprehensive review of these fascinating and mysterious underwater invertebrates—from the lone hunting of the octopus, to the social squid, and the prismatic skin signaling of the cuttlefish.

Down in the ocean lived tickly octopus with eight twisty, twirly tentacles that loved to tickle the fish. Octopus thought tickling was fun! But some of the other sea creatures didn’t like to be tickled. But Octopus thought that tickling was what he did best. One day Octopus tickled Oyster while she was sleeping. Oyster was so startled that she lost her pearl. After apologizing, Octopus went in search for Oyster’s pearl and soon discovered that he had many talents other than tickling. Octopus could swim fast and squeeze into small places, but best of all he was able to find and return Oyster’s pearl!

Octopus loves living on the busy reef under the sea. From her cozy cave, she can see clown fish, and sea turtles, and little butterflies swimming by. She especially loves watching the seahorses having fun, wiggling and twirling. Sometimes she will play with them, but occasionally Octopus just wants to be alone, somewhere quiet, and not so busy. So one day, she swims far, far beyond the reef and finds another cozy cave, only here she is perfectly, wonderfully alone. It is exactly what she wanted . . . until she’s ready to go back home to be with her friends. As she did in Little Owl's Night, Divya Srinivasan shows children a wonderful part of the natural world in a very warm-hearted way.

Inspire the future marine biologist in your life with this beautifully illustrated picture book about the octopus! The perfect read-aloud for kids and adults, kids can follow along with the story of the brave octopus while parents can choose to read the fascinating, true facts italicized on each page. Backmatter includes real octopus facts, activities for kids, teachers and parents, and more! Swim along with Octopus as she leaves the safety of her den to search for food. Will she eat? Or will she be eaten? Octopus is very hungry, but so many animals in the ocean are trying to eat her! Follow along as she is able to outwit multiple dangerous enemies (including sharks, turtles, and eels) by using a dazzling display of defenses: Clouds of ink Jet propulsion Camouflage And more! Backmatter Includes: Explore More for Kids: an anatomy map of all of the parts of an octopus, and descriptions of all the ocean animals in the book Explore More for Teachers & Parents: more detailed information on the anatomy of an octopus, a reading comprehension exercise, information and an activity on the ocean food chain, information on Octopus-inspired Engineering Design (biomimicry), and more!