I appreciate having had an opportunity to read and review this book. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer simply to advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.

This has become one of my absolute favorite reads of the year. The clear and concise descriptions of various octopuses, the history of octopus etymology, and the inclusion of the author's own experiences in studying such amazing creatures made this a wonderful nonfiction read.

This was a book that was as lovely to read as it was informative. I've always loved octopuses and this book combined scientific fact with indigenous folklore and personal narrative to create an overall beautiful work.

This is a great read for anyone who loves octopuses! Well-written with fun illustrations between sections and many cool facts about octopuses which were new to me.

Scheel combines scientific, personal, historical, and cultural perspectives and stories about octopuses into a compelling look at how they think and behave, with a particular focus on species living off the Alaskan coast and the little-studied social interactions (both inter and intraspecies) of these mostly solitary creatures.

I was also surprised by how much about octopuses is still understudied and unknown. They're so charismatic as a species, but there are so many challenges to studying them (environment, relatively short life expectancy, etc.) which have limited our knowledge thus far.

Scheel's book is slightly future/conservationist oriented, and it made me even more curious about one of my favorite group of creatures, and even more concerned about the state of our oceans.

I also appreciate that Scheel included indigenous stories and legends in a respectful way, requesting permission from storytellers to include their stories and crediting them (see acknowledgements sections),

The book is informative, and the illustrations of octopus were neat. However, the writing is dry, and there were too many personal anecdotes included. I felt like I was constantly waiting for the octopus talk to start.

I really enjoyed reading Many Things Under a Rock. I have always found octopuses to be utterly fascinating and getting more in-depth detail about their lives and existence was really cool. I'll definitely be purchasing for the library! We have a lot of animal nonfiction readers and they will love this.

David Scheel has studied octopuses for many years and traveled around the world in his pursuit of learning about these amazing creatures. In this book, he shares his experiences with and his knowledge about octopuses. He also shares what he's learned from indigenous people about the octopus. Additionally, there are fabulous illustrations of octopus peppered through the pages. People who are interested in these intelligent creatures, and how we study them will enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.

I have been fascinated by octopuses since reading The soul of an octopus by Sy Montgomery and jumped on the chance to read Scheel’s book. Scheel has studied these magnificent creature for 25 years and has gained new insight into their intelligence and their interactions with other sea creatures, humans and each other. No one who reads this book will remain untouched. They will be moved and humbled