How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0544938321 ISBN 13: 9780544938328

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018

A New York Times bestseller!

National Book Award finalist Sy Montgomery reflects on the personalities and quirks of 13 animals—her friends—who have profoundly affected her in this stunning, poetic, and life-affirming memoir featuring illustrations by Rebecca Green.

Understanding someone who belongs to another species can be transformative. No one knows this better than author, naturalist, and adventurer Sy Montgomery. To research her books, Sy has traveled the world and encountered some of the planet’s rarest and most beautiful animals. From tarantulas to tigers, Sy’s life continually intersects with and is informed by the creatures she meets.

This restorative memoir reflects on the personalities and quirks of thirteen animals—Sy’s friends—and the truths revealed by their grace. It also explores vast themes: the otherness and sameness of people and animals; the various ways we learn to love and become empathetic; how we find our passion; how we create our families; coping with loss and despair; gratitude; forgiveness; and most of all, how to be a good creature in the world.

From the Author:

Researching films, articles, and over twenty books, Sy Montgomery has hiked the Altai Mountains of Mongolia looking for snow leopards, tracked tree kangaroos in Papua New Guinea, and more. A National Book Award finalist, she has also been honored with a Sibert Medal, three honorary degrees, and many other awards.

About the Author:

In addition to researching films, articles, and over twenty books, National Book Award finalist Sy Montgomery has been honored with a Sibert Medal, two Science Book and Film Prizes from the National Association for the Advancement of Science, three honorary degrees, and many other awards. She lives in Hancock, New Hampshire, with her husband, Howard Mansfield, and their border collie, Thurber.
Website: symontgomery.com
Twitter: @SyTheAuthor.     

Rebecca Green is an illustrator of many children's and middle grade books, including The Unicorn in The Barn, Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea, Madame Saqui, and From Far Away. She is also the author and illustrator of How to Make Friends with a Ghost. This is her second collaboration with Sy Montgomery, their first being How to Be a Good Creature. She resides with her husband, and their lovely animals, Mori and Junie B.
Website: www.rebeccagreenillustration.com
Instagram: @rebeccagreenillustration.