"[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)

Patricia Lauber is the author of more than sixty-five books for young readers. Many of them are in the field of science, and their range reflects the diversity of her own interests-bats, dolphins, dogs, volcanoes, earthquakes, the ice ages, the Everglades, the planets, earthworms. Two of her books, SEEDS: POP STICK GLIDE and JOURNEY TO THE PLANETS, were nonfiction nominees for The American Book Awards. She was the 1983 winner of The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for her overall contribution to children's nonfiction literature.

As well as writing books, Ms. Lauber has been editor of Junior Scholastic, editor-in-chief of Science World, and chief editor, science and mathematics, of The New Book of Knowledge