A good book makes me think, learn, or research. That goes for any genre, any age group. Of course, I’ve loved books that have done none of the three for me. But, I’m not talking about those today. Today I’m talking about Gentle Giant Octopus. I’ve been thinking about these creatures ever since. I’m hoping this random post will finally get them out of my system.
I bought this book for Nicholas last year. He was obsessed with sea creatures, and I thought the nonfiction book about an octopus would be someone he liked. Oddly, it wasn’t until recently, when he was sick, that we decided to sit down and read about giant octopuses. Octopi. Octopodes. (More on that, later.)
Although the story is nonfiction, it’s written in story form. Nicholas and I followed the life of a mama octopus jetting through the shadows, huge like a spaceship. First fact I enjoyed and filed away in my extensive file of useless information: the tentacles of the largest giant octopus ever found were a heart stopping 15� feet long. I will never step foot in the ocean again.
The watercolor illustrations by Mike Bostock are incredible.
We learned how the mama octopus moves, feels, and protects herself.
But under a boulder, a Wolf eel is waiting. His mottled gray face darts from the shadows. His teeth strike like daggers. He rips off a tentacle. Then sinks like a nightmare deep into his den.
Not to be outdone by a Giant octopus, Nicholas’s eyes opened to 16� feet in diameter. Nightmare, indeed.
This is my favorite illustration of the book. The mama octopus finds an easily guarded cave she can squeeze into and uses her tentacles to pull in pebbles all around her. Once inside, she lays her eggs, which hang from the roof of the cave like grapes on a string. She lays as many as 60,000 tiny eggs! As you can imagine, no sooner did we finish the last page, I was off and googling Giant octopus eggs. Amazing.
This is Nicholas’s favorite illustration. The eggs grow for five months, and during that time the mama octopus never eats and never rests. She’s essentially the Italian/Latin mother of my childhood, but without the guilt trips and high-pitched screams to clean my room.
No, mama octopus doesn’t do guilt trips. She takes it to the next level and dies.
A mother Giant octopus rests in her cave den. She watches her babies swim up through the water. A gentle Giant octopus shrinks into the shadows. Her life is over as their lives begin.
Well played, mama octopus. Well played.
As for those baby octopuses, they get their own. Only two or three out of 60,000 will live to become adults.
Which brings me my first act of google after we finished reading the book. Octopuses? Octopi? Octopodes? I thought it was octopi, but the book said octopuses. So confused!
I love learning something new.
Oh, I love the illustrations too. Octopi, octopuses, octopodes (my personal favorite and, of course, the one the spell check doesn’t like) are truly fascinating creatures. On one of our last dives we came across one (normal size) and one of the people with us was a photographer. He got out a mirror and the octopus came out of his/her coral hideout and started doing a super model worthy posing session. Apparently they are vain.
That’s right! Octopodes, with an E. Off to change the post.
I knew from an early age that it’s really supposed to be octopodes. ;-) I don’t buy her excuse that it’s an English word now, because there are plenty of foreign words that don’t follow English rules when used in English [e.g. coups d’�tat not coup d’�tats].
I bet my boobear would like that book. I’ll have to pick it up.
It’s really good, and it seems to be part of a collection. I’ll have to look at others in the series.
We can’t mock people who say ‘octopuses’ . . . are you kidding me?!
It was very hard for me to read aloud the word octopuses!
Jules, have you watched the Planet Earth DVDs (produced by the BBC?) All of them are absolutely incredible, but I in particular loved the underwater ones. I agree that the octopus is fascinating (and quite beautiful).
I have them, but I have yet to watch them! I’m terrible. They’re on my list.
Oh, you just made my day. I didn’t even know videos like that existed! I am THAT person at work that is constantly proofreading, editing, reviewing word choice, and looking up information in the dictionary. Great post!
I was pretty pleased when I found it, too.
gorgeous water colors!
As a diver, finding octopi (can’t bring myself to type the other options!) is always a big win. We did a night dive in Monterrey in Nov and saw several small ones, and played with them – this one is snuggled up to an anemone
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7Xpz4tBMG7QNDTiBmcon8ji9_iXRcduNiEld7ICwG9Y?feat=directlink I got a great shot of one inking us as he zoomed off.
But in the Bahamas, the octopus are an electric aqua color, really spectacular!
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/5655_1209680604379_1299647528_2105701_6093435_n.jpg
Those pictures are crazy! You’re brave to scuba dive.
People say that, but honestly it doesn’t feel brave, it feels magical. Those dreams people have, where they are flying? No planes, just them, zooming around? That’s how scuba feels.
PS big +1 on watching the Planet Earth series. I bet your boys would love it too.
How can something be creepy and lovably cuddly at the same time???? The line about the mother dying reminded me of Charlotte dying in Charlotte’s Web. That was one of my favorite books when I was small, and when I read it many years later (the same copy) to my girls I started to cry at that chapter because I knew what was coming. I might need to re-read that book. Thanks for bringing it to mind.
Charlotte’s Web, Terms of Endearment…I don’t like it when the mom dies!
Years ago my older daughter wanted me to go see Stepmom or whatever it’s called – where the mother is dying and forms a relationship with the stepmother so she can love the children when the mother is gone. Not too long after I was diagnosed with BC – ummmm, as much as I’d love to go to a movie together, not that one and certainly not right then!
I also thought of Charlotte. Great review, love the mama guilt-trip stuff. My little guy would love this book too, although as a numbers man, I’m afraid he’d obsess a bit over the low chances of all those 60K babies.
Oh, it’s not a review! I’ve just spent the last week or so obsessing about Giant octopi. :)
You inspired me to go read a Wikipedia article. I’m equally amazed and creeped out! They’ve been known to crawl aboard fishing vessels to feast on crabs? Eeeek!! And all this cool, interesting stuff about their complex but disorganized neurological system. I’d never given them much thought, beyond that ubiquitous shower curtain that’s all over Pinterest.
And you’re so right, welcome to a new level of mom guilt. She doesn’t eat so she can guard her babies continuously! How dare you take a shower! : )