Innovative Octopuses, Half-Brained Birds, and More Animals with Magnificent Minds

by Couch, Christina; Duncan, Daniel

• ISBN13: 9781536229721
• ISBN10: 1536229725
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2025-01-14
• Publisher: MIT Kids Press

Summary

This third book in the Extraordinary Animals series delves into the mind-bending world of amazing animal brains.

Real-life animal brainiacs and the scientists who study them come to life in this detailed look at how animal—and human—brains work and the incredible things they can do. Meet goldfish who drive their own special car in search of treats; brilliant octopus problem-solvers who can probe, taste, and even make decisions with their arms; and squirrels who use mnemonic devices to remember where they’ve hidden their nuts! Readers will explore brains large and small, smooth and wrinkly, through fascinating sidebars, plenty of real science vocabulary, and full-color illustrations and photos. They can even put their own brains to the test through DIY neuroscience activities, from honing memory skills to getting focused through meditation. This engaging book delivers lots of fascinating science and the opportunity to learn more through a “further exploration” section, source notes, and a bibliography.

Author Biography

Christina Couch is the coauthor, with Cara Giaimo, of Detector Dogs, Dynamite Dolphins, and More Animals with Super Sensory Powers. She is an alumna of the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing, and when she isn’t writing books, she writes about brains and lots of other weird science for NOVA, the New York Times, Wired, and other outlets. Christina Couch lives in Massachusetts.

Daniel Duncan is the illustrator of the first Extraordinary Animals book, Detector Dogs, Dynamite Dolphins, and More Animals with Super Sensory Powers and of Mr. Posey’s New Glasses by Ted Kooser, The Girl Who Could Fix Anything by Mara Rockliff, and The Purple Puffy Coat by Maribeth Boelts. Daniel Duncan creates most of his work in an old stable turned studio on the outskirts of London.