Just published. Lisa Dabek has spent her life studying tree kangaroos. Dabek is the senior conservation scientist and director of the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program at Woodland Park Zoo. And now she has edited an essential book about these beguiling marsupials. Tree Kangaroos: Science and Conservation has twenty seven chapters by the world’s top tree kangaroo researchers, with a final chapter by Sy.
Lucky wrists. “In northern Thailand, a tribal shaman once foretold [Sy’s] future by looking at the pattern of blue veins on her wrists. He said that her wrists ‘were the luckiest wrists he had ever seen.’ Indeed.” Read about the adventures behind Becoming a Good Creature in this charming, short interview in New Hampshire magazine.
Win a book. Do Good. Help wombats and turtles. Deborah Furchtgott writes the lively blog, The Children’s Bookroom. She’s a mother, and a Harvard PhD (in medieval poetry) who is “passionate about children’s literature.” Sy is an “influential author” in her house. And in honor of that The Children’s Bookroom is holding a Thanking Good Creatures giveaway. She writes: “If you donate to one of the following charities (I encourage at least a $10 donation) and email me proof of donation at deborah.furchtgott@gmail.com then I will enter you to win one of these gorgeous books. Deadline: December 31, 2020. I will draw two names at random in the first days of January, 2021, and ship them out the first week of January. I will ship worldwide!
“To win Becoming a Good Creature, please donate to Sleepy Burrows Wombat Sanctuary near Gundaroo in Australia; the donation page is here.
“To win How to Be a Good Creature, please donate to the Turtle Rescue League here in Massachusetts; the donation page is here.
So, please! Consider making a donation, send me a note with which charity you supported so I know which book you’re entered to win. Again:
- Donate at least $10 to one of the above charities by December 31, 2020
- Email me with your receipt and chosen charity/book
- I will notify you if you win in the first days of January and ship your book shortly afterwards!
“Thank you so much for helping to make the world a better place! And thanks so much to Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green for their work and for showing all of us, kids and adults, concrete ways to work with our fellow creatures to be better ourselves.”
Sea Turtle Rescue Accomplished. With colleagues from Turtle Rescue League, wildlife artist Matt Patterson and Sy have returned from a 10-mile nighttime patrol along Cape Cod’s stormy beaches. They rescued five highly endangered, cold-stunned Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles. Matt dragged the cold turtles by sled to Audubon’s Wellfleet facility. They will be transfered to New England Aquarium’s Quincy marine animal care facility. All are expected to fully recover.
The Good Good Pig is now in its 21st printing, adding 3000 more copies. There are now more than 120,000 paperbacks in print.
Author and educator Mary Bleckwehl has chosen Becoming a Good Creature as one of her Top 10 Books for 2020. Check out the other great picture books she loves here.
Sy is a character in someone else’s novel! In a German work of fiction titled The Octopus’ Ninth Arm, Sy appears in a chapter in which, with the help of an octopus friend at New England Aquarium, she meets Vladimir Putin and… well, you’ll have to read the book (in German) to find out.
It debuted at number two on the Der Spiegel’s bestseller list. Watch out Putin, the octos are coming.
Becoming a Good Creature is a Number 1 Amazon bestseller in children’s science biography. And:
- Kirkus Reviews picks Good Creature as one of the 20 best middle-grade books for 2020.
- The National Science Teachers’ Association and the Center for Books for Children has selected Condor Comeback as one of the Outstanding Science Trade books of the year.
- It’s been a good year for good creatures.
Sy is delighted that the prestigious Science magazine gave Condor Comeback a wonderful review.
And if you missed the segment on condors on New England Chronicle last week, you can watch it here
