Laurel "Yoyo" Scheel – illustratör

Among all the ocean’s creatures, few are more captivating—or more elusive—than the octopus. Marine biologist David Scheel investigates these strange beings to try and answer long-held questions: How can we learn more about an animal whose perfect camouflage and secretive habitats make them invisible to detection? How does an almost-boneless package of muscle and protein defeat sharks, eels, and other predators, while also preying on the most heavily armored animals in the sea? How do octopus bodies even work?Octopuses are both fierce predators and vulnerable prey; they are antisocial jerks but also neat-freak roommates; they are in every ocean habitat and yet, being rarely encountered, nowhere at all. This fascinating and engaging middle grade adaptation of Many Things Under a Rock shows young readers how to embrace the wisdom of the unknown—even if it has more arms than expected.

Of all the creatures of the deep blue, none is as captivating as the octopus. In Many Things Under a Rock, marine biologist David Scheel investigates four major mysteries about these elusive beings. How can we study an animal with perfect camouflage and secretive habitats? How does a soft and boneless creature defeat sharks and eels, while thriving as a predator of the most heavily armored animals in the sea? How do octopus bodies work? And how does a solitary animal form friendships, entice mates, and outwit rivals?Over the course of his twenty-five years studying octopuses, Scheel has witnessed a sea change in what we know and are able to discover about octopus physiology and behavior—even an octopus’s inner life. Here he explores amazing new scientific developments, weaving accounts of his own research, and surprising encounters, with stories and legends of Indigenous peoples that illuminate our relationship with these creatures across centuries. In doing so, he reveals a deep affinity between humans and even the most unusual and unique undersea dwellers.Octopuses are complex, emotional, and cognitive beings; even as Scheel unearths explanations for the key mysteries that have driven his work, he turns up many more things of wonder that lurk underneath. This is the story of what we have learned and what we are still learning about the natural history and wondrous lives of these animals with whom we share our blue planet.