64 Books Like Giant Squid

I am inspired by people who break barriers to succeed. Ichthyologist (fish biologist) Eugenie Clark is such a person. She became a deep-sea diver at a time when not many women were in the water actively doing ocean research. All ocean creatures interested her, but her specialty was sharks! During her 92-year lifespan, she made many dives both in submersible vehicles and with SCUBA.

Because of her work, she became known as the “Shark Lady.” Once, while diving, she rode on the back of a 50-foot whale shark. I have only seen sharks in large aquariums, such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, but thanks to Eugenie Clark’s underwater research, I have learned many surprising things about them in the wild. 

“The river’s rhythm runs through my veins. Runs through my people’s veins.” This Caldecott Medal-winning picture book about the Indigenous-led movement to protect water as a sacred resource deserves all the accolades it has received. In a clear and powerful voice, Lindstrom’s young narrator reflects on the critical importance of water to her community, its spiritual significance, and the need to come together and stand up against an oil pipeline that threatens it.

I love how the book uses abstract language and imagery to tell a sweeping story of environmental justice and resistance that starts with one community’s fight to save its waterways and zooms out to include the whole world. At a time when environmental stories can be scary, sad, and overwhelming, Lindstrom’s poetic text encourages us to “Take courage!”

I love this book. I visited Zoo Miami when the author and Italian illustrator launched their beautiful collection. I don’t get tired of leafing through the pages and gazing at Daniele Guido’s art. He uses human hands as his canvas, turning them into wild and wonderful animals. The author, Silvia Lopez, brings insightful facts to raise awareness and awe for Earth’s precious wildlife. Sure to be appreciated by both animal lovers and artists, this inspiring collection showcases sixteen amazing animals, such as pythons, Komodo dragons, and polar bears incredibly lifelike on the hands. Silvia Lopez provides insightful facts about each and has received a BookList starred review and a few other awards for it. 

Who doesn’t like chocolate? No Monkeys, No Chocolates explains to the reader how we lucky humans ended up with what has to be one of the most popular treats in the world. Although the author writes about the entire process, starting with cocoa beans and ending with trees, wildlife plays an important part in our final chocolate treats, hence, the title. Midges, anoles, maggots, lizards, and of course, monkeys all play a part in getting the cocoa beans to grow, pollinate, and become new trees. One part of the book is straight nonfiction with serious explanations about the process, but illustrations of bookworms on the bent corner of the book give it that bit of metafiction to delight the younger readers who may not want to sit through every word.

This past year, I have been fascinated by butterflies, and especially the monarchs and their utterly magnificent flights of migration. But there are other books about monarch butterflies, so why this one? It is a story, fictitious admittedly, about how a group of children with passion and love for nature and butterflies face a growing problem using grassroots activism. It is based on what children and communities are doing to help butterflies all over the country and on the real issue of the decline of the monarch butterfly. It is sure to inspire the budding environmental activist.

Awe, beauty, and a satisfying amount of information—The Blue Whale has it all. I love the curious child we follow through the book, as well as the visual comparisons that turn astonishing facts about the world’s largest living creature into subtly humorous images that I can relate to on a more personal level. In the final pages of the book, the child—our surrogate adventurer—falls asleep and dreams, amazed by a world that contains such tremendous creatures. 

To me, this book feels like a walk along the beach. I pick up each poem, sink into the swirls and splashes of color, and let my mind wander. Books that encourage such meandering strolls near the ocean have a special place in my heart: the idea for my horseshoe crab book started on just such a walk. Water Sings Blue is a great reminder that you never know what wonders you will discover when you go outside and let your curiosity guide you. 

As a young reader, I would have slipped into this book and lost myself for hours. While it’s not a picture book by most definitions, these gorgeously illustrated pages overflow with facts, stories, and cheerful art. Like its subject matter, Water: A Deep Dive of Discovery covers a lot of territory—from the many ways water affects the lives of all living creatures, to maps and diagrams, to simple experiments you can try at home. A lovely book that will hold up to repeated readings by curious minds.    

I love a good photo-essay, and this one for ages 10+ examines the declining seahorse population and what one conservationist group has done to try to reverse that trend in The Philippines.

Eye-popping photography draws readers in, inviting them to witness the charming seahorse’s life, habitat, and precarious circumstances; to watch scuba-diving scientists collect crucial research; and to understand efforts to educate children and communities about aquacultural practices that help protect seahorses and their underwater environment.

I love this nonfiction book because it is about innovatively rebuilding Earth’s dying reefs. I also love biographies about ordinary humans who have achieved great things by pursuing their dreams–achievements born of compassion for the planet, its people, and the health and survival of all.

It’s the story of one man’s efforts to build more coral reefs. A second subtitle is The Story of Ken Nedimyer and the Coral Restoration Foundation. The book begins and ends with a provocative sentence: “It starts with one.” One polyp can grow into a life-giving reef. One person can rebuild dying reefs, create new ones, and create foundations so that others can support his vital work. Ken’s method is working!