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How to Hide...
How to Hide an Octopus : & Other Sea Creatures
With stunning, full-color illustrations of sea creatures, and an informative, rhyming text, Heller leads young ones on a search for a giant red sea dragon, a huge crab, and several exotic fish as she explores the secrets of camouflage in the ocean depths. A Reading Rainbow Review Title.
32 pages, Library Binding
First published July 3, 1985
4 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Heller
119 books47 followersAuthor and illustration with a passionate interest in Korean culture. She lives with her husband in San Francisco, California.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 12, 2018
Fun rhymes and pretty pictures. Very very interesting and fun!
February 16, 2023
The kids liked the look and find element of the artwork, and I wasn’t expecting a decently rhyming book when I started.
May 21, 2018
Pretty average, mostly accurate.
It's not terrible. One phrase I didn't like was, "The BUTTERFLY FISH has been designed to make it very hard to find." It wasn't "designed" by anybody. That's evolution there, Ms. Heller. The majority of the book is just a list of sea creatures that camouflage in various ways.
But for the most part, as far as I know, this is pretty accurate. Octopi and cuttlefish actually do change their color in the way that chameleons are thought to do in popular culture, and then all the other fish that she mentions are just naturally constantly camouflaged. Although I'm not sure that pike fish actually play. "Heads up, the PIKE FISH like to play and with the grasses drift and sway." Yeah, I don't think they're playing. I don't think that's a good description of what fish do. And I'm not sure "predatees" is a real word. She uses it to rhyme with "ease", as in "fade away with ease." Prey. Prey is the word you're looking for here, Heller.
And the last page: "Because the world is hostile, all creatures need protection. They need to hide so thoroughly that they defy detection." Not every animal hides. Elephants, for example, don't hide. Even some prey animals don't hide per se. It also makes it seem like all animals are either predators or prey, and there are many animals, especially fish, that are both. Like the saying, "There's always a bigger fish."
Message: Various sea creatures have different ways of camouflaging.
For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.
It's not terrible. One phrase I didn't like was, "The BUTTERFLY FISH has been designed to make it very hard to find." It wasn't "designed" by anybody. That's evolution there, Ms. Heller. The majority of the book is just a list of sea creatures that camouflage in various ways.
But for the most part, as far as I know, this is pretty accurate. Octopi and cuttlefish actually do change their color in the way that chameleons are thought to do in popular culture, and then all the other fish that she mentions are just naturally constantly camouflaged. Although I'm not sure that pike fish actually play. "Heads up, the PIKE FISH like to play and with the grasses drift and sway." Yeah, I don't think they're playing. I don't think that's a good description of what fish do. And I'm not sure "predatees" is a real word. She uses it to rhyme with "ease", as in "fade away with ease." Prey. Prey is the word you're looking for here, Heller.
And the last page: "Because the world is hostile, all creatures need protection. They need to hide so thoroughly that they defy detection." Not every animal hides. Elephants, for example, don't hide. Even some prey animals don't hide per se. It also makes it seem like all animals are either predators or prey, and there are many animals, especially fish, that are both. Like the saying, "There's always a bigger fish."
Message: Various sea creatures have different ways of camouflaging.
For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.
November 29, 2017
Genre: informational
Reading Level: elementary
This book is one about sea animals. I would keep this in my classroom for those who want to learn more about them. I plan on teaching in Indiana and this is nowhere near an ocean so I️t would be smart to have this in my classroom to learn more about marine life.
Reading Level: elementary
This book is one about sea animals. I would keep this in my classroom for those who want to learn more about them. I plan on teaching in Indiana and this is nowhere near an ocean so I️t would be smart to have this in my classroom to learn more about marine life.
November 22, 2022
Genre: Informational
Grade Range:
I loved this book! Everything from the illustrations to the rhyming is engaging. There is just enough information to spark students curiosity without overwhelming them. It is presented clearly with the aide of the illustrations. It would serve as a perfect hook to a lesson about adaptive animal traits.
Grade Range:
I loved this book! Everything from the illustrations to the rhyming is engaging. There is just enough information to spark students curiosity without overwhelming them. It is presented clearly with the aide of the illustrations. It would serve as a perfect hook to a lesson about adaptive animal traits.
October 28, 2024
How to Hide an Octopus & Other Sea Creatures is a delightfully illustrated children's science book that I used often with the preschool children I taught. The sea animals all use camouflage to stay safe from predators. The colors are bright and appropriate for this age children. The rhyme is good too.
June 7, 2022
My 9 year old daughter received this as a free book from our local library. So we read it together. It was too young for her, but it does a nice job teaching about some of the marine life we find in the ocean.
October 7, 2018
This book is a lot of fun. Cute, clever rhymes. Engaging illustrations with hidden animals to find.
November 24, 2021
Really thoughtful book on the camouflage of various ocean creatures.
September 15, 2022
Another great little nature book from Ruth Heller. With rhyming text and wonderful illustrations. My little one enjoyed finding all the hidden creatures.
October 6, 2022
Cool fish related to the octopus, some great illustrations. Rhyming book
January 26, 2024
I had this as a kid and was thrilled when my dad found our copy so that I could read it to my kids. I still love the illustrations because they show how clever these animals are at camouflage!
April 25, 2024
This was one of my favorite books as a kid
January 27, 2025
my great grandma loved this one
November 25, 2014
This is a great picture book teaching children all about camouflage and it's uses by creatures under the sea. It contains some references to real life situations that might scare some kids but is factual that some animals use camouflage to hide from predators and some to act as predators. Good book with great illustrations and great fun to spot the animals.
May 15, 2012
Reading Rainbow: Dive to the Coral Reefs
Her illustration style is pleasing/admirable and I am always suprised by the rhyming text - it adds a little interest for the adult reader and the kid listener in an otherwise very simple book.
Her illustration style is pleasing/admirable and I am always suprised by the rhyming text - it adds a little interest for the adult reader and the kid listener in an otherwise very simple book.
April 14, 2011
good book to read when learning about the ocean and what types of animals live in the ocean. really cute to see if the students can find the Octopus that is hidden in the page.
February 28, 2011
Fun camouflage book.
January 21, 2012
Describes, using rhyming text, how various sea animals change color to blend in with their surroundings.
May 22, 2015
This is a really terrific picture book about how sea creatures camouflage themselves, with rhyming text and exquisite illustrations that make a game of finding the creature that's hiding. Love it!
July 24, 2014
The 4 year olds I teach enjoyed the rhyming text, colorful pictures, and learning about camouflage.
April 24, 2016
Loved reading this book about camouflage with my 2nd graders. The pictures are my favorite part.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews