Giant Squid

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the Children’s Book Council (CBC) Award Winner: 2013 Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12

This sea monster is real.  It lurks in the freezing black depths of underwater canyons. Nearly 50 feet long, it hunts with its long arms and tentacles. Its powerful suckers leave giant round scars on those that live through a battle with it. But this enormous beast, with its huge, strange eyes, remains hidden from humans. We rarely see it and know little of its ways. What is this monster?  The giant squid.  This famed member of the cephalopod group has a history of frightening fishermen, starring in fictional adventure tales, and keeping scientists guessing. What is the story of this mythic creature? Why is it so hard to study? What secrets does it keep? 

Clyde Roper, ocean scientist and squid expert, has been seeking this secretive creature for decades. Come along as he and other researchers unravel its mysteries.

Mary Cerullo describes herself as a science interpreter. She works with scientists and ocean advocates to explain scientific research and environmental issues to the public, with the goal of motivating others to protect the ocean. At times she has literally immersed herself in her work, diving among sharks in the Bahamas, studying dolphin behavior at the Dolphin Research Center in Florida, and most recently, exploring the connection between volcanoes and the ocean on the island of Hawaii. Mary has written 21 award-winning books about the ocean for children. She has worked with kids, teachers, and other ocean lovers for more than 40 years, from her first job at the New England Aquarium in Boston, to two decades with Friends of Casco Bay, an environmental advocacy organization in South Portland, Maine.