Animals of the Ocean, in Particular the Giant Squid Hardcover – November 17, 2006

This, the third of the Haggis-on-Whey books that I have read, contains many interesting facts about giant squids and other marine life such as barracudas, which not only have film directorial aspirations, but also are largely conversant in Spanish and Catalan (some also speak German.) These are facts that are hard to unearth outside the Haggis-on-Whey volumes (this is Volume 3, Number 164 of 307 in the series) which are fortunately extremely comprehensive, dealing not only with the larger marine science issues one would expect from such a volume ("The Mid-Atlantic Grey Shark's Guide to Installing Floor Tile," and "What Kind of Music Do Giant Squids Listen to While Traveling by Train?"), but also detailing related topics such as "How Recycling Works in Utah," and "How Bread is Made."This is a wonderful book for anyone with a terribly odd or stream-of-consciousness sense of humor, or for giant squid owners. It is filled with useful illustrations and charts that reveal startling insight into things like "The Tubeworm: Rainbow of Emotion" and "Most Popular Baby Names For Fifty Seldom Seen Sea Animals," in which the reader learns, for example, that the most popular name for a female Little Post-Horn Squid is Brooklyn, while the most popular name for a male Pelican Eel is Henry or Henri. Truly, I do not think you could find this information anywhere else, and as a reference (or humor) book on marine life, I recommend it highly. Be sure to read the companion volume on giraffes: at least the Giant Squid didn't come from outer space on giant conveyor belts.

This is a fun conversation starter of a book. No doubt it will leave any youngster who peeks inside scratching her head, but grown-ups and those with quirky taste will certainly get a kick out of it. I especially like the "Am I Being Eaten?" chart!

We first read the Giraffe book and found it to be so silly and almost profound. The undersea version of their science is just as funny. Our older son, in college, went out and ordered the Brain book. Plain old silliness.

I bought this for my future brother in law. He saw the humor and loved it...especially the giraffe bits with the spaceships.

I think the reviewer that rated this book with one star lacks the absurdist humour necessary to appreciate this book. This is a perfect book for adults with a nostalgic soft-spot for the 1970s adventure books of their childhood and a irreverent brand of humour. Children will enjoy the silly, imaginative playfulness of the book-- without catching on to the classic informative children's book format that the book spoofs. From its matte pages to the mock-encyclopedia hard cover, from the 70s style illustrations to the "one-of-these-things-just-doesnt-belong-here" mock-educational exercizes, the book is a clever satire of the stiff scientific format past children's educational books. The imaginary authors, Dr. Doris Haggis-on-whey and Benny, are brilliant as the cold, clamy scientists. I think this book is also very much in the same vein as the film "the Life Aquatic". SO, how you felt about that film might also be similar to how you feel about this book. I don't give it a full 5 star rating because some of the absurdist humour in the book is random and nonsensical instead of witty, thoughtful humour.

As good as Giraffes, giraffes.

Another hysterical and adorable Dr Doris book!

I love this series of books. Great topics of conversation. Makes a great gift for any age.

This book is cleverly funny. Any geek with a good sense of humor should have it. Very amusing. Makes a great conversational piece for parties and potlucks.