Sy Montgomery – författare

'Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk did for raptors' New Statesman'Charming and moving...with extraordinary scientific research' Guardian'An engaging work of natural science... There is clearly something about the octopus’s weird beauty that fires the imaginations of explorers, scientists, writers' Daily MailIn 2011 Sy Montgomery wrote a feature for Orion magazine entitled 'Deep Intellect' about her friendship with a sensitive, sweet-natured octopus named Athena and the grief she felt at her death. It went viral, indicating the widespread fascination with these mysterious, almost alien-like creatures. Since then, Sy has practised true immersion journalism, from New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, pursuing these wild, solitary shape-shifters.Octopuses have varied personalities and intelligence they show in myriad ways: endless trickery to escape enclosures and get food; jetting water playfully to bounce objects like balls; and evading caretakers by using a scoop net as a trampoline and running around the floor on eight arms. But with a beak like a parrot, venom like a snake, and a tongue covered with teeth, how can such a being know anything? And what sort of thoughts could it think?The intelligence of dogs, birds and chimpanzees was only recently accepted by scientists, who now are establishing the intelligence of the octopus, watching them solve problems and deciphering the meaning of their colour-changing camouflage techniques. Montgomery chronicles this growing appreciation of the octopus, but also tells a love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about consciousness and the meeting of two very different minds.

Winner of the Green Earth Book AwardSibert Medalist, National Book Award Honoree, and New York Times bestselling author Sy Montgomery turns her formidable talents to the story of California condors and the scientists who have fought against their extinction in this installment in the award-winning Scientists in the Field series.In April of 1987 the last wild California condor was captured and taken to live in captivity like the other twenty-six remaining birds of its kind. Many thought that the days were over of of this remarkable, distinguished bird that had roamed the skies of North and Central American for thousands of years.Sy Montgomery employs her skill for on-the-ground reporting, shrewd observation, and stunning narrative prose to detail the efforts of scientists, volunteers, and everyday citizens to get California condors back in the wild. In particular, Montgomery profiles employees at the Santa Barbara Zoo who have worked tirelessly to raise abandoned chicks, nurse sick birds back to health, and conduct research that can support legislation to ban what is probably the largest threat to the existence of the wild condor: lead bullets. In turns affectionate and frustrated, hopeful and heartbreaking, Montgomery’s powerful prose does justice to these ancient, sociable, and elegant creatures.Complete with world-class, full-color photography and helpful sidebars that provide details such as the history of the bird’s fight back from extinction, the dangers of lead poisoning, and the relationship of condors to the Chumash nation, Condor Comeback is an inspiring story of groundbreaking science, perseverance, and cooperation.

"A remarkable story." — Washington PostThe bestselling and Sibert Honor–winning creators of The Book of Turtles bring us the true story of a snapping turtle’s extraordinary journey—and the amazing conservationists who helped give him a second chance. This feel-good, gorgeously illustrated story about beating the odds is complete with inspiring back matter and photos.Here is the true story of a very lucky turtle. His story began long ago when he was hatched from a very small egg on an autumn day. After decades of traveling between his summer pond behind the firehouse and his winter pond across the street, he never could have guessed that on one October day he would become unlucky . . .The amazing friends and challenges he met along the way are all chronicled by the Sibert Honor–winning duo behind The Book of Turtles in this tribute to the resilience and good luck of their dear friend, a very lucky turtle indeed.Detailed back matter includes an author's note, information about snapping turtles, and reader resources for how to save injured turtles.This beautiful story of survival and community is a perfect read-aloud for young nature lovers, featuring:A Real Animal’s Experience: Follow one snapping turtle on his real-life journey moving from one seasonal habitat to another.Inspiring Conservation Efforts: A true story of community—neighbors, vets, and wildlife advocates who rallied around an injured turtle and gave him a fighting chance.Beautiful Illustrations: Stunning art from a Sibert Honor–winning team that renders the turtle’s world with the same care and attention the conservationists brought to saving him.STEM for Kids: Detailed back matter on snapping turtle biology and practical guidance for young readers who want to help injured wildlife in their own neighborhoods.

New York Times bestseller and National Book Award Finalist Sy Montgomery and acclaimed wildlife artist Matt Patterson present a stunning caterpillar book filled with fascinating facts for backyard biologists.Small and sometimes unassuming, the caterpillar is easily overlooked. But without caterpillars, there would be no beloved butterflies. There would be fewer tomatoes in our gardens and far fewer birds singing in the trees.With more than 160,000 known kinds (and counting), new species are being discovered every day:Some are tiny as a sesame seed; others stretch as long as a hotdog.Some blend in like leaves or twigs, while others flaunt bold colors and patterns.They can hiss, scream, sting, hunt, or even mimic snakes!They live in rainforests and deserts, treetops and sidewalks—sometimes just outside your door.In this gorgeously illustrated exploration for all ages, the award-winning team behind The Book of Turtles celebrates the remarkable lives of small but mighty caterpillars, revealing how these often-overlooked creatures help shape the world.

Sibert Medalist, National Book Award Honoree, and New York Times bestselling author Sy Montgomery dives below the surface to study giant manta rays in Ecuador in this final installment in the award-winning Scientists in the Field series.On the vast Pacific, the ocean heaves and sighs like a beating heart. But dive beneath the surface, and angels appear. Giant manta rays—wider than a car is long, with wingspans stretching up to twenty feet—glide past with balletic grace, then vanish into the murky blue. They can soar to depths of nearly a mile, race at twenty-two miles an hour, and live more than fifty years. With the largest brain of any fish on Earth, they are among the ocean’s most intelligent and mysterious creatures.But even the most magnificent creatures are fragile. Because mantas grow up slowly—reaching maturity only at seven to ten years—and raise just a single pup once every few years, they are uniquely vulnerable. Only recently did scientists discover that these “angels of the sea” are hovering on the edge of extinction.Bestselling author Sy Montgomery and Patrick Joyce joins scientist Michel Guererro and his team to search for mantas in Ecuador’s plankton-rich waters, record their sightings, chart their locations, and note their behaviors and the conditions around them. The work will test and challenge them. But as they struggle and learn, they will also be transformed by their encounters with one of the largest, most mysterious, and most imperiled beings ever to swim the sea.

“Christopher Hogwood came home on my lap in a shoebox. He was a creature who would prove in many ways to be more human than I am.”–from The Good Good PigA naturalist who spent months at a time living on her own among wild creatures in remote jungles, Sy Montgomery had always felt more comfortable with animals than with people. So she gladly opened her heart to a sick piglet who had been crowded away from nourishing meals by his stronger siblings. Yet Sy had no inkling that this piglet, later named Christopher Hogwood, would not only survive but flourish–and she soon found herself engaged with her small-town community in ways she had never dreamed possible. Unexpectedly, Christopher provided this peripatetic traveler with something she had sought all her life: an anchor (eventually weighing 750 pounds) to family and home.The Good Good Pig celebrates Christopher Hogwood in all his glory, from his inauspicious infancy to hog heaven in rural New Hampshire, where his boundless zest for life and his large, loving heart made him absolute monarch over a (mostly) peaceable kingdom. At first, his domain included only Sy’s cosseted hens and her beautiful border collie, Tess. Then the neighbors began fetching Christopher home from his unauthorized jaunts, the little girls next door started giving him warm, soapy baths, and the villagers brought him delicious leftovers. His intelligence and fame increased along with his girth. He was featured in USA Today and on several National Public Radio environmental programs. On election day, some voters even wrote in Christopher’s name on their ballots.But as this enchanting book describes, Christopher Hogwood’s influence extended far beyond celebrity; for he was, as a friend said, a great big Buddha master. Sy reveals what she and others learned from this generous soul who just so happened to be a pig–lessons about self-acceptance, the meaning of family, the value of community, and the pleasures of the sweet green Earth. The Good Good Pig provides proof that with love, almost anything is possible.From the Hardcover edition.

Sibert medalist and National Book Award finalistSy Montgomery takes readers on a staggering, emotional journey alongside the greatest land migration on the planet earththat of the wildebeest across the Serengetito explorethe mystery and wonder of migration in a sweeping story sure to leave its mark. With full color photography.Here is a riveting you-are-there account of one of natures most fascinating occurrences: the wildebeest migration. Montgomery explores thewonder of migration, asking questions like, how domigration patternssculpt the environment? Why do animals migrate? And how do they know where to go?Withlyrical prose, abundant facts, and the inclusion of other species who undertake remarkable migrations, Montgomery makes a journey of thousands of miles fly bybut not without leaving its mark. Full color photography.

Sy Montgomery has had many teachers in her life: some with two legs, others with four, or even eight! Some have had fur, feathers, or hooves. But they’ve all had one thing in common: a lesson to share.The animals Sy has met on her many world travels have taught her how to seek understanding in the most surprising ways, from being patient to finding forgiveness and respecting others. Gorillas, dogs, octopuses, tigers, and more all have shown Sy that there are no limits to the empathy and joy we can find in each other if only we take the time to connect.Based on the New York Times best-selling adult memoir, Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green's beautiful, friendly guide is for readers young and old who wish to be better creatures in the world. Go ahead, pass it on.

Winner of the Green Earth Book AwardSibert Medalist, National Book Award Honoree, and New York Times bestselling author Sy Montgomery turns her formidable talents to the story of California condors and the scientists who have fought against their extinction in this installment in the award-winning Scientists in the Field series.In April of 1987 the last wild California condor was captured and taken to live in captivity like the other twenty-six remaining birds of its kind. Many thought that the days were over of of this remarkable, distinguished bird that had roamed the skies of North and Central American for thousands of years.Sy Montgomery employs her skill for on-the-ground reporting, shrewd observation, and stunning narrative prose to detail the efforts of scientists, volunteers, and everyday citizens to get California condors back in the wild. In particular, Montgomery profiles employees at the Santa Barbara Zoo who have worked tirelessly to raise abandoned chicks, nurse sick birds back to health, and conduct research that can support legislation to ban what is probably the largest threat to the existence of the wild condor: lead bullets. In turns affectionate and frustrated, hopeful and heartbreaking, Montgomerys powerful prose does justice to these ancient, sociable, and elegant creatures.Complete with world-class, full-color photography and helpful sidebars that provide details such as the history of the birds fight back from extinction, the dangers of lead poisoning, and the relationship of condors to the Chumash nation,Condor Comebackis an inspiring story of groundbreaking science, perseverance, and cooperation.

**A SIBERT HONOR BOOK! **** A KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR ** A BOOKLIST EDITORS' CHOICE OF THE YEAR ** From National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestseller Sy Montgomery comes an ode to one of the most diverse, fascinating, and beloved species on the planet: turtles. With dazzling illustrations and emotionally engaging, fact-filled text, this picture book will speak to the wisdom these long-lived animals can lend.Everyone loves turtles. And no wonder: long-lived, unhurried, and ancient, these shelled reptiles are fascinating.Turtles are also endlessly surprising. There are turtles with soft shells, turtles with googly eyes, turtles with necks longer than their bodies, and turtles whose shells glow in the dark!And each turtle, of each of the more than 300 kinds, is an individual. You’ll meet some of them here: Lonesome George, the last of his kind on Earth. And Myrtle, the 90-year-old green sea turtle who has more than 7,000 followers on Facebook.        What questions might you ask a turtle? You’ll find many of the answers in this gorgeous compendium—and perhaps be inspired to help at a time when these reptiles, who evolved at the same time as the dinosaurs, face the deadliest dangers of their more than 380-million-year history.Read more books by Sy Montgomery:Becoming a Good CreatureThe Magnificent MigrationCondor ComebackThe Hyena ScientistThe Octopus ScientistsThe Great White Shark Scientist

Dr. Greg Skomal, biologist and head of the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, is investigating a controversial possibility: Might Cape Cod’s waters serve as a breeding ground for the great white shark, the largest and most feared predatory fish on Earth?        Aboard the OCEARCH research vessel, Sy Montgomery and Keith Ellenbogen report on this thrilling turning point in marine research and travel to Guadeloupe, Mexico, to get up close and personal with the sharks. This daring expedition into the realm of great whites shows readers that in order to save the planet and its creatures, we must embrace our humanity and face our greatest fears. 

It looks like a bear, but isn't one. It climbs trees as easily as a monkey- but isn't a monkey, either. It has a belly pocket like a kangaroo, but what's a kangaroo doing up a tree? Meet the amazing Matschie's tree kangaroo, who makes its home in the ancient trees of Papua New Guinea's cloud forest. And meet the amazing scientists who track these elusive animals.

Welcome to a forest filled with water. In the wet season, the swollen Amazon becomes a looking glass into another world, where pink dolphins swim like something from a dream. In Peru they are called bufeo colorado—the ruddy dolphin. Their color ranges from white to gray to a vivid pink. These astonishing mammals, actually river-dwelling whales, easily navigate their way through the complex, hazardous world of the Amazon rain forest. Encantado invites readers on the adventure of a lifetime as we travel into one of the world’s most lush and beautiful jungles in search of these magical creatures. Our guides include scientists and researchers as well as the local people, who have lived with the encantados—the enchanted ones—literally at their doorsteps for centuries. Our main guides are the dolphins themselves. They lead us into myth. They take us back in time to a prehistoric era. They alone can show us the depth of the Amazon’s beauty, diversity, and magic—and help us to keep our planet rich and whole.

A 2007 Sibert Honor Book It looks like a bear, but isn't one. It climbs trees as easily as a monkey but isn't a monkey, either. It has a belly pocket like a kangaroo, but what's a kangaroo doing up a tree? Meet the amazing Matschie's tree kangaroo, who makes its home in the ancient trees of Papua New Guinea's cloud forest. And meet the amazing scientists who track these elusive animals.

What could be better than watching the natural world out your window or on your television? Going out and experiencing it firsthand. In these fifty essays, acclaimed nature and science writer Sy Montgomery takes her readers on a season-by-season tour of the wilderness that is often as close as the backyard. Sy invites — almost dares — readers to follow her and form hands-on relationships with the plants, animals, birds, and even the insects that share space with people. These essays, most of which originally appeared in Sy's Boston Globe column Nature Journal, are by turns enlightening, entertaining, sometimes amusing, and always absorbing and informative. Filled with natural history and lore, the essays urge readers to appreciate what they find around them.

What could be better than watching the natural world out your window or on your television? Going out and experiencing it firsthand. In these fifty essays, acclaimed nature and science writer Sy Montgomery takes her readers on a season-by-season tour of the wilderness that is often as close as the backyard. Sy invites — almost dares — readers to follow her and form hands-on relationships with the plants, animals, birds, and even the insects that share space with people. These essays, most of which originally appeared in Sy''s Boston Globe column Nature Journal, are by turns enlightening, entertaining, sometimes amusing, and always absorbing and informative. Filled with natural history and lore, the essays urge readers to appreciate what they find around them.

"e;An appealing, elegantly designed introduction to another much-maligned species."e; Kirkus (starred review)"e;A fascinating, informative, and inclusive window into a feared and misunderstood species."e; Booklist (starred review)This myth-busting addition to the critically acclaimed Scientists in the Field series by Sibert medal winning team Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop is perfect for nonfiction readers looking for more female scientist narratives, or a fresh perspective on an underrepresented animalHyenas!Timely and inspiring, The Hyena Scientist sets the record straight about one of historys most hated and misunderstood mammals, while featuring the groundbreaking, pioneering research of a female scientist in a predominatelymale field in this offering by Sibert-winning duo Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop.As a scientist studying one of the only mammalian societies led entirely by females, zoologist Kay Holecamp has made it her lifes work to understand hyenas, the fascinating, complex creatures that are playful, social, and highly intelligentalmost nothing like the mangy monsters of pop culture lore.

Sy Montgomery, New York Times best-selling author and recipient of numerous awards, edits this year's volume of the finest science and nature writing.