study guide for little red cuttlefish - henry...

Study Guide for LITTLE RED CUTTLEFISH

Copyright (c) 2016 Henry Herz www.henryherz.com www.pelicanpub.com


About Little Red CuttlefishLittle Red is off to deliver a fresh basket of crab cakes to Grandma Cuttlefish. Everything goes swimmingly . . .at first. While Little Red might be safe from any big, bad wolves, she has to look out for something even more dangerous: the hungry tiger shark! Luckily, this cuttlefish is anything but cuddly, and Little Red has a few tricks hidden up her tentacles. She’ll camouflage, squirt ink clouds, and use her quick reflexes to outwit that pesky shark and deliver her crab cakes unharmed. After all—she doesn’t want to miss dessert! This aquatic rendition of a classic tale brings the splendor of the sea to dry land. Combining science, spunk, and lively illustrations, Little Red’s adventures will tickle your funny gills and leave you wanting to dive in again and again.

About the AuthorAvid scuba diver Henry Herz has been a defense analyst, Web developer, and children’s-book author. Partnered with his sons, Josh and Harrison, Herz has authored Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes andits companion story, When You Give an Imp a Penny. He continues his mission to “water the seed of creativity in the minds of young people” on his Web site, where he interviews notable children’s-bookwriters and illustrators, and chronicles his own adventures as an author. He enjoys moderating literature panels at conventions.

About the IllustratorKate Gotfredson is currently pursuing a bachelor of fine arts, with a focus on animation and computer science, at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Educational and personal projects of this award-winning artist include digital illustration, 3D animation, visual effects, and sculpture. When she isn’t drawing, she enjoys playing piano, dancing, video gaming, and eating ice cream.

Pre-Reading Discussion

What are fairy tales? Stories for kids featuring fantastical creatures or magicWhat inspired this book? Little Red Cuttlefish is an aquatic picture book retelling of Little Red

Riding Hood.Tell me more about Little Red Riding Hood

This fairy tale originated in the Middle East in the first century. Later, it was an oral tradition of Frenchpeasants in the 10th century. A similar tale was told by Italian peasants in the 14th century. Little Red Riding Hood was first published as “Le Petit Chaperon Rouge” in Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals – Tales of Mother Goose by Charles Perrault in 1697. The Brother's Grimm published their version in Children's and Household Tales in 1812.

A young girl travels through the woods to bring food to her grandmother. She is stalked by a hungry wolf. The devious wolf speaks with the girl to learn where her grandmother lives. The wolf races to the



grandmother's house, swallows her, and disguises himself as the grandmother. When Little Red Riding Hood arrives, the wolf swallows her too. In the Grimm Brothers' version, a hunter rescues the girl and her grandmother by cutting open the sleeping wolf.

Through the centuries, many beautiful illustrations have been created for this tale.

Little Red Riding Hood (1881) by Carl Larsson From Childhood's Favorites and Fairy Stories (1927)

By Gustave Doré By Arthur Rackham



19th-century French painting Woodcut by Walter Crane

By Gustave Doré By George Frederic Watts

Read Little Red Cuttlefish

Post-Reading Discussion• contrast Little Red Cuttlefish with Little Red Riding Hood• discuss Little Red Cuttlefish's defense mechanisms• discuss what lessons Little Red Cuttlefish may have learned• discuss if it's better to be a cuttlefish or a shark• discuss if the shark is evil• discuss why people made up stories with creatures that aren't real



Post-Reading Activities

a) Learn about cuttlefish

Cuttlefish aren’t fish at all. They are members of a class of animals that includes squids, octopuses, andnautiluses. They have a porous shell inside their bodies, called a cuttlebone, which is used to control their buoyancy.

Male cuttlefish have eight arms and two tentacles. Female cuttlefish have only six arms and two tentacles. The arms and tentacles have suckers for grabbing prey. And if that isn't strange enough, their blood is greenish blue.



Cuttlefish have an amazing ability to quickly change the color, pattern, and texture of their skin. Cuttlefish can use this camouflage to sneak up on their prey, which consists mostly of crabs and fish.

Catching food is especially important, because (unlike people) cuttlefish never stop growing.The cuttlefish's ability to quickly change color also helps it avoid being hunted by sharks, dolphins, seals, and other predators. If camouflage doesn't work and it is spotted by a predator, a cuttlefish can squirt out a cloud of brown ink to help it hide.



b) Learn about tiger sharks

The tiger shark is a fierce predator that can grow to lengths over 16 feet. It has five gill slits on either side of its body, and not one but two dorsal fins. It has dark stripes that give the tiger shark its name, although those fade with age.

The tiger shark's skin can be blue or light green, with a white or light yellow underbelly. This is a simple form of camouflage because when viewed from above, the darker skin blends in with the darker water. When viewed from below, the shark’s underside blends in with the lighter sun-illuminated water.



Tiger sharks prefer to hunt by themselves at night. They are often found close to shore in tropical and subtropical waters. Tiger sharks have a good sense of smell, and are capable of detecting the faint electric fields given off by living animal. They also have an organ along their sides that detects the faintvibrations of swimming prey.

c) Learn more about sea creatures online

Conservation International – www.conservation.orgDiscovery – animal.discovery.com/marine-lifeEnvironmental Defense Fund – www.edf.orgMarine Bio – marinebio.orgNational Geographic – ocean.nationalgeographic.comNational Marine Life Center – nmlc.orgNational Resources Defense Council – www.nrdc.orgNature Conservancy – www.nature.orgOceana – oceana.orgWildlife Conservation Society – www.wcs.orgWorld Wildlife Fund – worldwildlife.org

d) Get a blank sheet of paper and draw your own cuttlefish or shark.

e) Read the original Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl, the prettiest creature that ever was seen. Her mother was very fond of her, and her grandmother loved her still more. This good woman made for her a little red riding-hood, which became the girl so well that everybody called her Little RedRiding-hood.

One day her mother, having made some custards, said to her, "Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother does, for I hear she has been very ill; carry her a custard and this little pot of butter."

Little Red Riding-hood set out immediately to go to her grandmother's, who lived in another village.

As she was going through the wood, she met Gaffer Wolf, who had a very great mind to eat her up; but he dared not, because of some fagot-makers hard by in the forest. He asked her whither she was going. The poor child, who did not know that it was dangerous to stay and hear a wolf talk, said to him:--

"I am going to see my grandmother, and carry her a custard and a little pot of butter from my mamma."

"Does she live far off?" said the Wolf.

"Oh, yes," answered Little Red Riding-hood; "it is beyond that mill you see there, the first house you come to in the village."



"Well," said the Wolf, "and I'll go and see her, too. I'll go this way, and you go that, and we shall see who will be there first."

The Wolf began to run as fast as he could, taking the shortest way, and the little girl went by the longest way, amusing herself by gathering nuts, running after butterflies, and making nosegays of such little flowers as she met with. The Wolf was not long before he reached the old woman's house. He knocked at the door--tap, tap, tap.

"Who's there?" called the grandmother.

"Your grandchild, Little Red Riding-hood," replied the Wolf, imitating her voice, "who has brought a custard and a little pot of butter sent to you by mamma."

The good grandmother, who was in bed, because she was somewhat ill, cried out, "Pull the bobbin, andthe latch will go up."

The Wolf pulled the bobbin, and the door opened. He fell upon the good woman and ate her up in no time, for he had not eaten anything for more than three days. He then shut the door, went into the grandmother's bed, and waited for Little Red Riding-hood, who came sometime afterward and knockedat the door--tap, tap, tap.

"Who's there?" called the Wolf.

Little Red Riding-hood, hearing the big voice of the Wolf, was at first afraid; but thinking her grandmother had a cold, answered, "'Tis your grandchild, Little Red Riding-hood, who has brought youa custard and a little pot of butter sent to you by mamma."

The Wolf cried out to her, softening his voice a little, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up."

Little Red Riding-hood pulled the bobbin, and the door opened. The Wolf, seeing her come in, said to her, hiding himself under the bedclothes, "Put the custard and the little pot of butter upon the stool, and come and lie down with me."

Little Red Riding-hood undressed herself and went into bed, where she was much surprised to see how her grandmother looked in her night-clothes. She said to her, "Grandmamma, what great arms you havegot!"

"That is the better to hug thee, my dear."

"Grandmamma, what great legs you have got!"

"That is to run the better, my child."

"Grandmamma, what great ears you have got!"



"That is to hear the better, my child."

"Grandmamma, what great eyes you have got!"

"It is to see the better, my child."

"Grandmamma, what great teeth you have got!"

"That is to eat thee up."

And, saying these words, this wicked Wolf fell upon Little Red Riding-hood, and ate her all up.


study guide for little red cuttlefish - henry...

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