The “creature a l’intelligence extraordinaire.” The paperback of the French edition will be published in April.

Thank you Donna Leon. The author of the bestselling and beloved Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series is a fan of The Soul of an Octopus. For the German edition, she said: “Fantastic animal, fantastic book.” And in the New York Times Book Review she said that Sy’s octopus book is “a dream.”

Inky’s Amazing Escape: How a Very Smart Octopus Found His Way Home has been nominated for a Black-Eyed Susan Book Award by the Maryland Association of School Librarians.

The Hyena Scientists has been selected as a finalist for the 2019 Animal Behavior Society’s Outstanding Children’s Book Award. Children will review the finalists and choose a winner.

What do Animals Think and Feel? Sy joined a panel of experts on The Agenda, a Canadian current affairs program that tackles big issues each week. Watch it here.

As someone who travels a great deal, and has gotten lost more than she’d like, Sy was rooting for Huck, a small steer, just a week old, to find his way out of the woods. Huck’s Way Home is a charming illustrated children’s book by Kristina Rodanas about Huck’s adventures on his journey back to the Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock, Vermont. Welcome home Huck.

In his day Christopher Hogwood loved to bust out of his pen and see the neighborhood. That pig is still travelling. The Good Good Pig – which stars Mr. Hogwood – is now in its 19th printing. There are more than 115,000 copies of the paperback in print.

Tamed and Untamed is included in a recently published wiki: Works of Non-Fiction That Are Perfect for Animal Lovers. Take a look at the books on the list here. “Founded in 2011, Ezvid Wiki was the world’s first video wiki, and is now among the top 3,000 websites in the United States,” say the folks at this Wiki.

Go Team Hyena. The Hyena Scientist has been selected as an American Library Association Notable Book.

Sy enjoyed talking to John Klyce on his recent podcast Lending Nature a Hand. Listen here.

Sy is back from “the land where deer bark and dogs whistle.” Read about her time at the Earthwatch research site in Thailand. And check out those sporty leech socks that Sy and her fellow researchers are wearing. (And note this sockless dhole.)

How to Be a Good Creature is number 8 on the Boston Globe Bestseller list

With some new translations soon to be published, The Soul of an Octopus will be available in 13 languages, including, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Romanian, Bulgarian, Polish, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese.

Watching Wolves. Everyone has a favorite animal. John’s favorite is the wolf. He tells Sy that you can learn about wolves by watching their wolf ways here. Thank you John and your teacher, Rachel Martin, for this suggestion.

Besties. How to Be a Good Creature is on these lists of the best books of 2018: Brain Pickings, Good Morning America, The Washington Post, PRI’s Living on Earth, Brain Pickings, BookPage, The Fold Magazine, BookRiot (best book covers), Cascadia Weekly, Ageist, Iowa Public Radio, GirlBoss, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, AskMen, Albany Times-Union, Idaho Press-Reader, Bmore Art Journal, Eugene Weekly, Marco Eagle, New Hampshire Union-Leader, WickedLocal Cohasset, Simple Chic Everyday, NPR-affiliate KJZZ (Phoenix), Away to Garden, Northshire Books, One More Page Books, Bookshop Santa Cruz, Coast Outer Banks, Quail Ridge Books, Little Professor Books, The Book Jam, Left Bank Books, Eight Cousins, Camp Kansas City, and Booksmith.

In January Sy will join an Earthwatch expedition studying wild dogs in Thailand. Here’s what she wrote for Earthwatch:

Nearly 36 years ago, wombats changed my life.

After five years working as a science journalist at a daily newspaper, my father gave me the gift of my dreams: a plane ticket to Australia. I’d always wanted to go. No other land boasts so many marsupials – mammals whose tiny, undeveloped young, and sweet belly pockets to hold them, had fascinated me since childhood. But what to do once I got there? I discovered Earthwatch, and joined an expedition with Brookfield Zoo’s respected research biologist, Dr. Pamela Parker, studying the underground lives of the southern hairy-nosed wombat at Blanchetown Conservation Park in South Australia.

A lot of our work involved counting fecal pellets. But I could not have been more riveted by the work. I loved the outback. I loved the animals. I loved the science. I loved falling asleep in my tent with the smell of eucalypt smoke in my hair, and waking to sunrises streaked with flocks of pink and grey parrots.

At the end of our two weeks together, Dr. Parker told me she wished I could come back — though she couldn’t hire me, or even pay my way if I wanted to volunteer again. But if I ever wanted to come study any animals at the park, she said, I’d always be welcome at her camp, and she would give me food.

So I quit my job and moved to a tent in the outback.

This is how I began a career off the beaten track. Since then, I’ve swum with piranhas, pink dolphins and electric eels in the Amazon, hiked the Altai mountains of Mongolia looking for snow leopards, and worked in a pit with 18,000 snakes. In Borneo, I’ve been undressed by a curious orangutan. In New Guinea, I helped radio collar tree kangaroos. In French Guyana, I held my (first) wild tarantula. I’ve been hunted by a swimming tiger, chased by a silverback gorilla, and embraced by several giant Pacific octopuses — and meanwhile written 25 books on animals and nature for adults and children, thousands of articles, and scripts for National Geographic TV. I’ve never looked back.

But all this time, I have ever been grateful to Earthwatch. And not just for that first expedition. In the ensuing decades, research for several of my books (including the one with the 18,000 snakes) has intersected with Earthwatch teams.

And now, to my delight, I am heading out with Earthwatch again. Thanks to a generous Earthwatch Communications Fellowship, this January I am looking forward to joining an Earthwatch team on the expedition Tracking Asiatic Wild Dogs in Thailand with principal investigators Drs. Ronglarp Sukmasuang and Nucharin Songsasen in Khao Yai National Park.

Asiatic wild dogs, also known as dholes, are one of the world’s most endangered canids, and also one of the most enigmatic. Red-coated and bushy-tailed, they look a bit like foxes. But other than their appearance, they are nothing like our familiar vulpines — or any other dog on Earth.

Dholes don’t bark, yip or howl. They whistle. They thrive among leopards, bears, and tigers. They can run 45 miles per hour, leap seven feet into the air (to get their bearings as they hunt!), and are excellent swimmers.

But despite their rarity, in many areas, dholes are considered pests. I’m honored to be able to work on a team that will help figure out how much food and room these whistling dogs need to survive, and how best to protect them.

Sy will be sharing the experience by posting blogs from the field. She can’t wait to tell you about her adventure.

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People Magazine picks How to Be a Good Creature as one of the best new books of the year.

The Hyena Scientist has been chosen for this year’s Kirkus Reviews Best Books list.

How to Be a Good Creature is back on The New York Times Monthly Science Bestseller list at number 6.

Best Book Cover. Take a bow Rebecca Green for your fine work on the cover of How to Be a Good Creature. Book Riot has chosen it as one of the best book covers of the year.

Take at look at what the first bookstore customer is reading in this CBS News story on how indy bookstores are booming.

The German magazine, Bild der Wissenschaft – Picture of Science – has chosen the German translation of The Soul of an Octopus — Rendezvous mit einem Oktopus – as the best non-fiction of 2018 in their entertainment category.

Another Octo Convert. K. D. Miller is a Canadian writer who has won a following with her short story collections, including All Saints and Late Breaking. Recently Miller was interviewed about her favorite books. What book are you an “evangelist” for? she was asked. Miller replied, “The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery. I couldn’t believe I was reading a whole book about cephalopods. Montgomery is a wonderful nature writer. She was one of the models for a character in my latest book – a woman who writes about spiders, bats and other things most people want nothing to do with. The Soul of an Octopus is proof that you can write about anything, anything at all, and, provided you do it with sufficient authority and skill, you’ll have people turning the pages.”

Inky’s Amazing Escape is Amazon’s pick for the best children’s nonfiction book of 2018.

Octo Wine. Two bottles of very appropriately labeled wine from a celebratory dinner at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, where Sy had the privilege of speaking. “Here’s to teachers, students, mollusks and raptors: Cheers!,” says Sy.

While in Arksansas to talk to students at Hendrix College, Sy enjoyed her visit to Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas.

How to Be a Good Creature starts its second month on the New York Times Monthly Science Bestseller list.

Brain Pickings. Each week Maria Popova’s hundreds of thousands of readers wait for her thoughtful dispatches on art, science, philosophy, and other subjects. Last Sunday the subject of Brain Pickings was emus, pigs, tarantulas, Border Collies, and some of the other animals that grace Sy’s latest book, How to Be a Good Creature. Maria gets to the essence of the book. Sy, she writes, is “one of the most poetic science writers of our time.”

Texas Two-Step: Jellyfish and Bats. Sy’s visit to the fabulous Texas Book Festival brought a reunion with Spineless author Juli Berwald – her book is about jellyfish – and gave Sy a chance to meet native bats at the Austin Bat Refuge with her new friends, the refuge’s founders, Dianne Odegard and Lee MacKenzie. (But no actual country/western dancing, doing the Texas Two-Step.)

Sy was at the Nature Literature Festival in Barcelona in October where she met three of these Iberian wild boars. (We don’t know if these boars are publishers, editors, or writers.) They were grunting happily and wagging their tails as they dug up grass with their flexible nose disks. “Must have been a blessing from Christopher Hogwood,” says Sy. Her Spanish publisher flew her to Spain to celebrate the new Spanish translation of Spell of the Tiger.

Bestseller. How to be a Good Creature debuts at #9 on The New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction list for October 14.

People magazine has listed How to Be A Good Creature as one of The Best New Books of the year.

Inky’s Amazing Escape is a Powell’s Books Holiday Pick for 2018. “It’s perfect for curious kids and budding naturalists,” says Powell’s, the renowned Portland, Oregon, bookstore.

Pulpos to the People! The Spanish edition of Soul of an Octopus has arrived, and flowers from Sy’s editor at Houghton Mifflin, the amazing Kate O’Sullivan.

How to be a Good Creature is #10 on New York Times Monthly Bestseller list for science books.

Portrait of a Critic at Work. This young reader has just received a copy of Sy’s new children’s picture book, Inky’s Amazing Escape. The verdict? She likes what she sees.

The further adventures of Heidi, the best friend of turtles everywhere. Heidi, age 10, raised nearly $600 for sea turtle rescue and rehab. (See the entry below in August.) Heidi loves sea turtles. She’s upset that we don’t treat turtles better. On the last day of her summer vacation, Heidi went to the New England Aquarium to present a check to the aquarium’s veterinarian Dr. Charlie Innis. To celebrate, she got a hug and a squeeze from the aquarium’s male giant Pacific octopus, Professor Ludvig von Drake. And she fed leaves of lettuce to a very appreciative Myrtle, the 550-pound green sea turtle who reigns as the Queen of the aquarium’s Giant Ocean Tank.

Rescued and released. Sy recently helped release baby turtles. The turtles were hatched in the wild from nests carefully guarded by citizens with permits from state authorities. Sy, and acclaimed wildlife artist Matt Patterson, hand-carried the babies to release sites in habitats approved by biologists. (That’s Matt’s hand holding two turtles.) Too many turtles are endangered by poachers and innocent kids who just want a pet. So please: Do help a turtle cross the road, but don’t take a turtle home from the wild.

Big crowd for Octopus and Jellyfish. Scenes from National Book Festival in Washington D.C. on September 1. A large crowd of over 1,000 heard Sy (that’s her in the middle) along with Juli Berwald, author of a book about jellyfish, Spineless (right) and the moderator, NPR Commentator Linda Holmes (left).

The Octo Ministry Continues. How to cap off a perfect weekend after the National Book Festival in Washington? With a visit with the unnamed young male Giant Pacific Octopus at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Sy sends many thanks to aquarist Peter Larson and volunteers Phil Wujek and Mike O’Connell. And guess what’s on offer at the aquarium gift shop? (Hint: a certain soulful octopus book.)

Birds of a (Clay) Feather. Helen Weiser is a potter and pottery instructor in British Columbia. She’s new to Sy’s books. She began with Birdology, which was recommended to her. She enjoyed it and decided to display the book at recent pottery exhibit with three of her “Gooney Birds” at the local library in West Vancouver.

Find Your Own Amazon Adventure. Sy’s friend, teacher Marion Magill, has developed a fabulous virtual tour of the Amazon, ideal for classrooms or just for fun. Sy is one of the guides. The New England Aquarium’s Scott Dowd, star of Sy’s book, Amazon Adventure, is another guide; and a third guide is Anna Magill, Sy’s teenage friend, to whom The Soul of an Octopus is dedicated. Here’s the link. Enjoy your trip—and it’s free!

A turtle’s best friend. Sy meets some amazing people in her travels. When she spoke at a nearby elementary school she met Heidi, age 10. Heidi loves sea turtles. She’s upset that we don’t treat turtles better. She is raising money to help sea turtle rescue at the New England Aquarium. She made art and eco-bags and sold them at a booth in her town. (That’s Heidi’s mom, dad, and three sisters in the second photo — what a great team.) And this is just a start, Sy says. This girl is a whirlwind!

Liz and Sy recently read at the Norwich, Vermont, bookstore. You can watch them here.

The Good Good Pig is now in its 18th printing. Some pig!

Spanish Tiger. Sy’s book about the man-eating tigers of the largest mangrove swamp on earth, Spell of the Tiger, will be published in Spain this September.

What baby needs food every 20 minutes — but if you feed him too much, he could pop? While at the fabulous Santa Barbara Zoo, Sy recorded two short interviews – three minutes each — with her friend the host Dean Noble, which aired on Zoological Radio.

Condor Comeback. Sy is at the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge to work with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the Santa Barbara Zoo, and others doing health checks for Southern California’s condors. Here, handsome 10-year-old condor male 480 gets the spa treatment. Photo by the talented Tia Strombeck, whose work will illustrate Sy’s new Scientists in the Field book, Condor Comeback.

A Vulture for Supervisor. A youngster finds a good perch from which to watch biologists and volunteers conduct health and telemetry checks on 16 of his fellow condors at the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge. Sy got to help (and got pooped on twice– no small matter for America’s largest land bird). Thanks for sharing the photo, Estelle Sandhaus.

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.

Sy received a royal welcome April 20 to Wendover School in Greensburgh, Pa. The 6th, 7th and 8th graders made more than 200 posters inspired by her work and travels, which are displayed throughout the school. Leading up to the visit, students watched videos, read interviews, and studied Sy’s books and the animals who inspired them. Thanks to the incredible staff at the school, especially librarian Beth McGuire students see authors as awesome as rock stars!

Good Creatures All. Sy is delighted to be on the front page of today’s Wall St. Journal in the company of many other fine books about animals: “My Beloved Octopus: Animal Memoirs Move Way Beyond Cats and Dogs.”

And the lead of the story:

In her book How to Be a Good Creature, Sy Montgomery gains rare insight into her late mother after a wild ermine rips the head off one of the author’s chickens.

“She was, in her way, as fierce as that ermine,” Ms. Montgomery writes in her memoir about lessons she has learned from 13 different animals. After seeing the voracious creature, she writes, her heart “flooded with the balm of forgiveness” for her mother.

Sy enjoyed her visit to Newport, Oregon, where she was met by 100 octo-devotees at the Newport Public library and 300 fans at the Eugene Public Library. Sy was visiting because of the good work of Newport Reads! during which the entire community is invited to read and discuss one book, in this case a certain book about octopuses. The above display was created by Linda Anable from facts and materials provided by Lance Beck and Evonne Mochon-Collura. And below, Sy visits with Cleo at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Thank you all for the great visit.

Coming in September: How to be a Good Creature. In her new book Sy tells us about the personalities and quirks of 13 animals—her friends—who have profoundly affected her.

“What have animals taught me about life?” Sy asks in the book’s introduction.

Her answer: “How to be a good creature.”

“All the animals I’ve known—from the first bug I must have spied as an infant, to the moon bears I met in Southeast Asia, to the spotted hyenas I got to know in Kenya—have been good creatures. Each individual is a marvel and perfect in his or her own way. Just being with any animal is edifying, for each has a knowing that surpasses human understanding….

“Knowing someone who belongs to another species can enlarge your soul in surprising ways. In these pages you’ll meet animals who changed my life by the briefest of meetings. You’ll meet others who become members of my family. Some are dogs who shared our home. One’s a pig who lived in our barn. Three are huge flightless birds, two are tree kangaroos, and there’s also a spider, a weasel, and an octopus.

“I am still learning how to be a good creature. I try earnestly, but, perhaps like you, too, I often fail. But I am having a great life trying—a life exploring this sweet green world, and returning to a home where I am blessed with a multispecies family offering me comfort and joy beyond my wildest dreams.”

Kangaroo Training. The Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program features Sy’s Quest for the Tree Kangaroo in its excellent Junior Ranger Training program, here in the Papua New Guinea mountain village of Westkokop. Photo by Danny Sama.

Seen at Out of the Blue, a gift shop on Big Pine Key in Florida. Thanks to Elizabeth Hunter Lavallee for taking on the hard work of winter reconnaissance in Florida.