Children & the Arts Festival parade in Peterborough, NH

The Art of the Octopus. The Children & the Arts Festival parade in Peterborough, NH, starts with a big parade of giant puppets. This year’s theme was Under the Sea, so Hancock Library Director Amy Markus and her merry band created this giant octo honoring, The Soul of an Octopus. “We also sang Octopus’s Garden as we walked,” says Amy. “It was fab.”

All Hyena Radio. Sy joined Jim Braude and Margery Eagan to talk about Hyenas on WGBH radio. Listen to whole show here. On NHPR’s Word of Mouth, Hyena fan Jimmy Gutierrez visited Sy and Thurber at home. Thurber serenaded Jimmy by singing along to his favorite music. Hear Thurber’s debut at 32:18. Hyenas are Jimmy favorite animal, but after his visit, Sy hopes that Thurber has nosed his way on to Jimmy’s list.

Pulpos to the People. The Spanish edition of The Soul of an Octopus will be published in October. Here’s a first look at the cover.

Book Riot has named The Soul of an Octopus as one of its 50 Best Nature Books. “If you didn’t think ‘page-turning adventure’ and ‘hallucinatory’ could be used to describe a book about octopus intelligence, then you should read this book,” says Book Riot. Sy is honored to join so many authors on the list that she admires, including Barbara J. King (How Animals Grieve), Julie Zinkefoose (Bluebird Effect), Temple Grandin (Animals in Translation), and Dava Sobel (Galileo’s Daughter). What a great group! Read the entire list here.

In the May 1 Washington Post, Sy will change your mind about hyenas: “Sy Montgomery thinks hyenas have gotten a bad reputation. They are, it turns out, great hunters, not the skulking scavengers of ‘The Lion King.’ They are also very social creatures and express themselves through a variety of sounds, not just what seem like hysterical giggles.” This is the first review of The Hyena Scientist. Read it here.