Innovative Octopuses, Half-Brained Birds, and More Animals with Magnificent Minds (Extraordinary Animals) - Hardcover

Couch, Christina

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1536229725 ISBN 13: 9781536229721

Publisher: MIT Kids Press, 2025

Synopsis

"An inviting and accessible introduction to neuroscience and brain function." —Booklist (starred review)

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.

About this title

About the Author

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.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction
 
In a Chicago aquarium, an octopus chips away at a block of ice, trying to get the frozen food inside. Her brain makes most of the decisions, but her sucker-covered arms make some choices all by themselves.
   A bird nesting in Hawaii’s high rocky cliffs catches a quick nap before heading out to hunt. Even as she’s snoozing, half of her brain might be awake.
   In a very special backyard in California, a squirrel decides where to stash food for the winter. She uses mind tricks to remember her hiding places.
   And as you’re reading this, a marvelous and mysterious organ inside your skull is working all day and all night to give you amazing abilities.
   Large or small, smooth or wrinkly, brains of all shapes and sizes do extremely complicated work. Your brain weighs only about as much as a cantaloupe or a small pineapple, but crammed into that space is an electrically charged, lightning-fast biological machine with more processing power than the world’s fastest supercomputer.
   Your mind-blowing brain is the command center for your physical functions, sensory systems, emotions, and thoughts, and even after centuries of studying it, scientists still have so much to learn and explore. The same is true for brains of other creatures, too. Brains vary a lot throughout the natural world, and their unique structures give animals abilities we just don’t have.
   In this book, you’ll get to know six animals with incredible brain-powered talents and dive into the science behind these superpowers. You’ll also learn about some of the things that happen between your own ears. On top of meeting a tortoise that seems to defy death, a parrot that helps humans mentally heal, and a whale that has its own wild way of communicating, you’ll also learn about the people who study these creatures and the strategies they use to try to uncover the brain’s many secrets. Plus, you’ll get to put your own mind to the test with activities at the end of each chapter.
   So put on your thinking cap and get ready to explore the animal kingdom’s most extraordinary organ.

Edition details

• Publisher: MIT Kids Press
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1536229725
• ISBN 13: 9781536229721
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Duncan Daniel
• Number of pages: 160