Octo School. Librarian and teacher Melody Drawbond welcomed back her students to octopus-themed spaces at Everton Schools, “a little bitty school,” in Everton, Missouri, this fall. She reports the kids relished the new decor “but I think they enjoyed talking about octopuses more!”

Across the pond, Sy was talking about Octos on BBC 4:

Tentacular: The Wonderful World of the Octopus
Cornish fishermen this summer have had their usual catch of lobster and crab replaced by voracious octopus. Restaurant menus have had to be wiped and rewritten across the south-west, but what else has changed? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski ask why octopus have such a hold on our imagination and the science world, why the octopus has moved north and what its journey can tell us about the changing oceans.

Joining Tom and Helen are the writer Sy Montgomery, marine biologist Dr Keith Hiscock MBE and octopus neuroscientist Dr Amy Courtney of the Marine Biological Association. Listen here.

And you can read an excerpt from Sy’s new book about the giant oceanic Manta:

The Secret Lives of Oceanic Manta Rays.  Once you meet one, your life will never be the same.  Read it at Pioneer Works Broadcast.

Lastly, Christopher Hogwood showed up in this interview from 2007 on To The Best of Our Knowledge. This is a superb, tightly edited show from Wisconsin Public Radio.  It’s off the air, but their many shows are archived online.  About the show:

“Christopher Hogwood was not your ordinary household pet. For one thing, he weighed 700 pounds. And he loved to drink beer. Christopher was a very large pig with a heart of gold. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the story of how Christopher Hogwood became the best-loved pig in southern New Hampshire. We’ll also talk with Dave Foreman – once the most notorious environmental activist in America. He has a new project: re-wilding North America. ” And the ever-amazing dog trainer Patricia McConnell teaches an old dog new tricks. It’s what she does.  Listen here.

The New Mexico Natural History Museum  is showing ‘A Turtle’s Odyssey’ in their IMAX Theater.  And in the gift shop, what else but this:

Sy is honored to have Brave Baby Hummingbird featured in Durham, New Hampshire public library’s Books in Bloom display.

Sy enjoyed talking with Ava on her podcast Live Laugh Animals.

Ava is passionate about animal conservation. When she started her podcast, Ava explored “all kinds of animals — from exotic species of Macaw to the largest rodents in the world to just plain old cats and dogs.” Over time, her show evolved. She is committed to “combating … deforestation and animal extinction.”

“With this podcast, I hope I can make some small difference to prevent innocent animals from getting pushed out of their natural habitats,” Ava says.

She wants to inspire “the next generation of animal advocates.”

Listen to Sy on Live Laugh Animals.

Sy is honored to have her words beside photographer Joel Sartore’s iconic portraits in The Photo Ark: Animals of the Earth.

“The Photo Ark is more than just collection of stunning images; it’s lifeline for endangered creatures,” says National Geographic. “Joel Sartore’s mission is simple yet profound: to photograph every captive animal on the planet. Through his lens, he captures the essence of each species—their quirks, their beauty, their vulnerability. These portraits serve as powerful reminder of the importance of conservation and our responsibility to protect Earth’s biodiversity.”

And look at that billing on the cover: Sy’s name above Harrison’s Ford.

Sy is thrilled to be honored at this year’s annual benefit for the Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy in Litchfield, Conn., on Saturday, June 20.

Ripley is the steward of land that is home to more than 500 rare and endangered birds. “These birds, many of which are not possible to see anywhere in the United States — and, in some cases, the wild — are ambassadors for a fragile future,” says the conservancy. “As habitats vanish and species are quietly disappearing, firsthand experiences with wildlife have never mattered more. The responsibility for protecting the natural world increasingly falls on organizations like Ripley — and engaged individuals like you — to ensure that vulnerable species do not disappear.”

A few scenes from the benefit on a fine night:

Congratulations, Fire Chief! The True and Lucky story of your life has won this year’s national Charlotte and Wilbur Award for Compassion for Animals. Thank you to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the International Literacy Foundation for creating this award.

And yet more kudos to Fire Chief. The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle was just named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Center for Children’s Books.

The Horn Book magazine asked all the living Sibert medalists from 2001 to 2026 to write essays about what they learned from working on their winning book. Sy wrote about Kakapo Rescue, which was photographed by Nic Bishop.

In this episode of the podcast Naturally Scott, the host Scott Harris brings together Sy, Debi Shearwater, and Lynn Scarlett for a candid conversation about how the birding world — and the broader fields of science and conservation — has changed. From early challenges and barriers to mentorship, leadership, and progress, they discuss what birding looked like decades ago for women. Listen here.

A reader sent this tribute that he spotted in another octo book:

Team Fire Chief – Matt, Sy and the Chief — take their star turn on Yankee TV. Today’s lesson?  “You never, never give up on a turtle,” says Sy. Watch a short clip here.

Thank you, Nashua River Watershed Association, and the packed roomful of turtle lovers who came to Nashua to celebrate our favorite shelled reptiles.

Sy and Matt loved their visit with the readers of Concord, New Hampshire, who have read the turtle books.

The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle is one of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center’s “Choices 2026.” From 10,000 children’s titles published in 2025, Fire Chief’s story was one of the 231 they honored. See the others here.   

Here be dragons. You never know who is going to show up at your reading. This little guy came to celebrate Broomfield, Colorado’s, city-wide Junior Read, The Book of Turtles. Broomfield, 18 miles north of Denver, listed as one of the best small cities in the West, is home to 77,000, including many turtle book readers, and one in a frilled-lizard costume. (Wait, is that a costume?)

Brave Baby Hummingbird is a finalist for the Mountain Laurel Book Award, chosen by kids in grades K-3. Read more about the award and see the other finalists here.

This is mail that all writers welcome:

In the Company of Dazzling Creatures with Sy Montgomery. Northern Woodlands magazine visits with Sy. They get right to one of Sy’s earliest animal studies:

“I was born in Germany, but we moved to Virginia when I was around 2…. When my parents took me to the Frankfurt Zoo … before we moved, I broke free and toddled off, and when they found me, so says my mother, I was in the hippo pen with the hippos, having a great time. I’ve always been able to sit still and watch stuff. I just wanted to sit quietly and see what the animal did. Read the rest of the short interview here.”

Fire Chief has mail! Children in New Castle, Washington write to him: We hope you’re doing better after your accident…. We loved the story of Fire Chief…. Do you have friends in your pond?

Watch Sy and Matt read Fire Chief’s mail to him.

Sy enjoyed talking with Lindsey Siegele of Bioneers:

I think most of us begin life seeing animals as individuals. As children, that comes naturally. But somewhere along the way, many adults lose that way of seeing. For a long time, science itself reinforced the idea that an animal was simply a representative of its species, not a unique being. Behavioral research used to treat animals that way, and frankly, I think the researchers themselves knew it was nonsense.

That began to change in a very visible way when Jane Goodall went into the field in 1960 and refused to number the chimpanzees she studied. She named them…. Today, especially in field biology, the first thing you’re taught is to figure out who’s who. Otherwise, nothing you observe will make sense.

In that regard, I don’t think I have changed very much since I was a child. I’ve always believed animals are individuals. What can be challenging is recognizing individuality in species that are very unlike us — reptiles, or marine invertebrates, for example. But once you pay attention, it becomes undeniable. Every octopus I’ve met has had a completely distinct personality. The same is true of turtles.

Read the rest of the short interview here.

Fire Chief is the pick of the year. Kirkus Reviews choses The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle  as one of the “Best Picture Books of 2025 for Animal Lovers.”

Says Kirkus, “In the annals of true animal rescue tales, this one delights and uplifts.”

Congratulations again to our favorite 42-pound snapper! The National Science Teachers’ Association and the Children’s Book Council named Fire Chief’s life story, The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle, an Outstanding Science Trade Book of the year.

That pig. The Good Good Pig has just seen the 26^th printing of the trade paperback. There are now just under 130,000 paperback copies in print.

The Cumberland, R.I., fire station celebrated their old neighbor, Fire Chief. The star of The True and Lucky Life of Turtle began his life in two ponds right by the firehouse. The firefighters saw him grow up, and when he was hit by a car, they called the Turtle Rescue League.

Fire Chief didn’t make this homecoming, but he sent his ambassadors.

Sy and Matt gave three separate talks to different age groups of K-8 students at the Chesterfield School in Chesterfield, N.H. Matt also lead a paint-along session. Thanks to a generous grant, every student received a signed copy of The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle. The visit was arranged by Bettina Ramsay, reading specialist, who was named Teacher of the Year by the Harris Center.