Hail to the Chief – The Fire Chief. Booklist loves The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle: “The incredible story of Fire Chief is captivating on its own, and the illustrations only add to that appeal. Using what’s described as “a funny grip on the paintbrush,” the illustrator creates life-like images that heighten the drama while giving Fire Chief just enough of a smile to give him personality. Readers will find themselves rooting for him from the start. Young readers will be fascinated by the real-life resilience of this turtle and inspired by the people who helped him survive.”
The Washington Post loves Fire Chief. Librarians pick the best new books for kids this fall: The award-winning duo behind The Book of Turtles returns with a true fairy tale about the life of a snapping turtle named Fire Chief. Through Patterson’s realistic acrylic illustrations, readers see the animal mature from the size of an acorn to the size of a lawn mower before an encounter with a vehicle nearly ends his life. Turtle Rescue League conservationists nurse him back to health, and Fire Chief lives happily ever after in a freshly dug pond in the illustrator’s backyard. Montgomery addresses readers directly, inviting them into this remarkable story; an appendix offers resources about turtle stewardship.
Otis loves Fire Chief. Otis the box turtle at Garden State Tortoise has given the first celebrity endorsement of Sy & Matt’s new book, The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle. Otis is known to his 542,100 followers on TikTok (with over 15.6 million likes), his 510,000 followers on Instagram, and heaps more on Facebook. Otis is one busy boxie.
Octo! Octo! The Secrets of the Octopus is #4 in the nature category on the Circana Bookscan list, which is the standard industry source for book sales. And The Soul of an Octopus is #5.
The Arab News is giving turtles a little love: “Sy Montgomery’s Of Time and Turtles tells of her curiosity to the wonder and wisdom of our long-lived cohabitants, turtles‚ and through their stories of hope and rescue. Elegantly blending science, memoir, philosophy, and drawing on cultures from across the globe, this compassionate portrait of injured turtles and their determined rescuers invites us all to slow down and slip into turtle time.”
“Tired of doomscrolling and dopamine hits that fade fast?” asks the website Times Now. Well, they say, you need some Octo-therapy. You need to read The Soul of an Octopus, and nine other books.
Times Now says: “These 10 non-fiction books will do what your screen can’t: hold your attention, stretch your thinking, and actually satisfy your curiosity. No overhyped titles here, just masterful storytelling, quirky insights, and voices that make you forget your notifications exist. Whether you’re into history, psychology, or poetic science, this is the anti-screen binge your brain has been waiting for.” See the other books here.
Here comes Fire Chief. His life-story will be published this September. Kirkus Reviews gets in the first word:
The Sibert Honor–winning creators of The Book of Turtles (2023) recount the true story of a snapping turtle whom they both had a hand in rescuing.
The chronological account of Fire Chief’s life begins with a dramatic spread—his mother lays her eggs near a tree with giant roots that both shelter and appear poised to walk away. Child-friendly descriptions make clear the vulnerabilities of the newborn turtle, who was “almost as small as a quarter—so small that even a fish could swallow him.” Montgomery gently folds in the notion of his being “lucky” for having survived such challenges as predators and a road he must cross to reach his winter pond. As the town changes, Fire Chief’s road becomes a highway, leading to his pivotal “unlucky” collision with a car. The Turtle Rescue League tends to his wounds, builds him a wheelchair for indoor exercise, and gives him time to grow strong. Montgomery asks a crucial question: “Would he be fast enough to beat whizzing cars? Is any turtle?” The mostly white-presenting rescuers and local wildlife lovers come up with an ingenious solution; the backmatter reveals Montgomery and Patterson’s own involvement in the story—a poignant surprise. Patterson’s lifelike illustrations pour love on the book’s star: Fire Chief’s penetrating orange-brown eyes and bemused smile charm, while the folds of skin on his legs and chin look like landscape portraits in and of themselves.
Arms out octo lovers. Barnes and Noble has published its own paperback edition of the Secrets of the Octopus. The bookstore says: “This paperback edition is available only at Barnes & Noble! The jacket has a unique exclusive edition cover, including foil details.”
In the annals of true animal rescue tales, this one delights and uplifts. (further information about Fire Chief and snapping turtles, photographs, resources) (Informational picture book. 4-8)
Animal Memoirs are Going Wild. Sy was interviewed by Alexandra Alter for her delightful tour of books about hares, foxes, owls, snails and other animals in The New York Times Book Review. From the story:
“It’s a very old yearning that our kind has,” said the naturalist Sy Montgomery, who has written dozens of books about animals, including How to Be a Good Creature, which chronicles her relationships with 13 animals, among them an octopus named Octavia.
As children, most of us feel an instinctive connection with other creatures. And some of the oldest forms of human art and literature — cave paintings, myths, fables — center on animals.
“It has helped us survive,” Montgomery said of this connection. “Until 10 minutes ago we were all hunter gatherers, and if you didn’t pay attention to the natural world a smilodon came and ate you.”….
Another critique of some animal memoirs is that authors stray into anthropomorphism, assigning human traits to their nonhuman subjects. But writers who have spent time with members of other species say it’s foolish to assume that we’re so very different.
“For the longest time, it was in vogue to say, oh that’s anthropomorphism, and that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Montgomery said. “It implies that emotions, individuality, personality are all human characteristics.”
The jump in egg prices has been news for months, but on the opinion page of The New York Times Sy reveals a much more important story – a tragedy with a solution.
She had no idea that while her free-range hens “enjoyed shelter and sunshine, fresh bugs and freedom, their newborn brothers faced a gruesome fate shared by 6.5 billion male chicks around the world each year. These male birds can’t lay eggs but also aren’t raised for meat. Because they come from egg-laying breeds, they don’t grow big or fast enough to be used for food. So they are ground up alive or gassed to death.
The good news is that a new technology can help end it. Called in ovo sexing, it determines the sex of the chick embryo long before it hatches, allowing the producers to get rid of the male eggs and hatch only the females. Eggs from in ovo sexed hens have been available in some European countries since 2018 and now make up about 20 percent of Europe’s market… It’s a breakthrough that could be one of the greatest gains in animal welfare of the century. But we consumers have to make it happen.
Innovate Animal Ag reviewed the response to Sy’s NYT op-ed:
Of Time and Turtles arrives in Germany. Here it is the second book in the Diogenes spring catalog
A Mighty Girl picks some mighty fine books about “Women Saving The Planet: 25 Kids’ Books About Female Environmentalists.” Three of Sy’s books make the list: The Tapir Scientist, The Hyena Scientist and The Octopus Scientist. See the list here.
Sy and Matt thank the Lake Sunapee Protection Association for bringing them to a great school and a great town for two talks. They loved meeting the kids, the adults, and the fabulous board members and volunteers at the lake association and the Abbott Library.
Everything is coming up Cephalopods. Seen at the Barnes and Nobles in Philadelphia:
Firechief is ready for his close-up. His story will be told in a new book by Sy and Matt Patterson: The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle. The pub date is this September. Watch the lovable chief here.
Sy talked to New York Times reporter Alexandra Alter about the boom in “animal memoirs” – books in which animals star:
“It’s a very old yearning that our kind has,” said the naturalist Sy Montgomery, who has written dozens of books about animals, including “How to Be a Good Creature,” which chronicles her relationships with 13 animals, among them an octopus named Octavia.
As children, most of us feel an instinctive connection with other creatures. And some of the oldest forms of human art and literature — cave paintings, myths, fables — center on animals.
“It has helped us survive,” Montgomery said of this connection. “Until 10 minutes ago we were all hunter gatherers, and if you didn’t pay attention to the natural world a smilodon came and ate you.”
Sy enjoyed meeting the students of the Princeton Day School.
Ciao Italia! If you can read Italian, La Repubblica, an Italian general interest newspaper with a circulation of 151,000, has written about Sy and Tartagua. “This book is an antidote to our seemingly inescapable frenetic world. It blends with elegance science and philosophy. It draws on all the cultures of the world and invites us to slip into the slow time of turtles.” Leggi di più qui: Sy Montgomery: “Così le tartarughe ci insegnano a prenderci cura del mondo”
North Country Radio in New York, reviewed Of Time and Turtles, delighting in meeting the Turtle Rescue League, the Turtle Ladies, and everyone working save these beautiful, endangered creatures. Listen to the short review.
Soul of an Octopus is in great company, LiveMint choses “Six Must-Read Books on Animals and Nature.” See the list.
Ciao Italia. Next month an Italian translation Of Time and Turtles will be published. The title and subtitle are slightly modified, and reads roughly: The Time of Turtles: How the Longest-Living Animal Teaches Us to Take Care of Ourselves and the World.
The Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL) has chosen Brave Baby Hummingbird for the Dogwood List in the grade K – 2nd category. There are only 20 titles on the list.
The vision of the Missouri Dogwood Outstanding Nonfiction Committee is to provide children of Missouri with a recommended reading list of nonfiction titles that will interest them and enrich their lives. As librarians, they want to recognize and honor outstanding works in children’s nonfiction.
The American Library Association has chosen Brave Baby Hummingbird as one of their Notable Children’s Books — for all ages! See the other excellent books they selected here.
Sy enjoyed talking to her new and now very special friend, Katherine Carver, author of Abandoned: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs. They had a good conversation about animals and writing. From the interview:
Katherine Carver: What advice do you have for creative people?
Sy: When you cannot believe in yourself, believe in your teachers and inspiration. And do the work and then attend to your feelings about yourself. Most of all, focus on what you love.
Katherine: Do you have a favorite mantra or quote that you live by?
Sy: This is attributed to the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus: “The universe is alive, and has fire in it, and is full of gods.” Which means, to me, that our world is incandescent with minds both like and unlike our own—and all of them are holy.
“Go out into the world where your heart calls you. The blessing will come, I promise you that. I wish for you the insight to recognize the blessings as such, and sometimes it is hard. But you’ll know it’s a blessing if you are enriched and transformed by the experience. So be ready. There are great souls and teachers everywhere. It’s your job to recognize them.” –Sy Montgomery, How to be a Good Creature
Sy says: “I never thought I’d attain the literary distinction of being featured in France’s top magazine for chicken lovers, Poulettes! Though I majored in French in college, I cheated: my answers were translated from the English.”
Good Good News. The Good Good Pig has just gone into its 25th printing. There are now nearly 130,000 paperbacks in print.
New Hampshire magazine talks to Sy about hens and other critters:
Sy: This is a book about how to enjoy the company of chickens and really appreciate them for who they are, not just what they can give us in terms of eggs or meat.
New Hampshire magazine: It does seem like people automatically say: What can the chicken give me?
Sy: I think sometimes society makes us look at our relationships with others in a transactional way. I’ve written 38 books about animals, and one of the questions I often get is: What is this animal good for? And I’m always flabbergasted by that question. They are for the same thing we are for: loving this life, enjoying this life, hopefully adding some beauty and drama to this life. But animals exist for their own sake, not for our sake, but because we’re all part of the natural world, we do all need each other.
What the Chicken Knows is #5 on the Portland Press Herald’s bestseller list for the week ending January 5 and #6 for the Boston Globe’s list for the same week.
Photo by Brandon Phan
Do insects, crabs, and lobsters feel pain? Indeed, they do. This excellent story by Shayla Love in the January 5 issue of The New Yorker quotes Sy in the second paragraph. She is proud to be in good company. Here’s the opening two paragraphs of “Do Insects Feel Pain?”
One of the stranger effects of Brexit was that, after the United Kingdom left the European Union, in 2020, it no longer recognized animals as “sentient beings.” When the U.K. was an E.U. member state, it was bound by European laws, including the Lisbon Treaty, which invoked sentience in order to shield animals from sensations such as pain, hunger, and fear. But, after Brexit, the U.K. was no longer subject to the treaty. Numerous advocacy groups demanded a replacement animal-sentience law. Twenty-nine leading veterinarians, who treated cattle, birds, fish, dogs, and other animals, sent a letter to the Daily Telegraph. “Scientific evidence demonstrates the ability of animals across a range of species to have feelings,” they wrote. “We have fought for legislation that places a duty on the state to recognise this.”
In 2021, the U.K. government introduced a bill that covered only vertebrates—animals with backbones. More protests followed. Ninety-seven per cent of animals—think clams, crabs, cicadas—are invertebrates. An octopus does not have a backbone, but in the Netflix documentary “My Octopus Teacher,” from 2020, we see one that appears curious, uses shells as body armor, and seems to bond and play with a person. In the naturalist Sy Montgomery’s nonfiction book “The Soul of an Octopus,” she visits an octopus and observes that the animal “had not only remembered us and recognized us; she had wanted to touch us again.” And whatever happened to considering the lobster?
Turtles are coming to Taiwan. In March, Of Time and Turtles will be published in Taiwan .
Sharp looking display at the Hillsdale General Store in Columbia County, NY.
On the Boston Globe bestseller list for the week ending November 17:
#6 Of Time and Turtles on the paperback nonfiction list. #2 What the Chicken Knows on the hardcover nonfiction list.
And the hens are also roosting at: #7 for the second week in a row on the national indie bestseller list. #7 on the Washington Post bestseller list. #12 on the Southern Indie bestseller list.
Other lists: Of Time and Turtles is the second bestselling paperback nonfiction book at Reader’s Books in Sonoma, California, for the week ending December 6. What the Chicken Knows is number 8 on the list of bestselling nonfiction at Longfellow Books in Portland, Me.
Of Time and Turtles continues its Christmas-season walk on the Boston Globe’s bestseller list. It’s #8 for the week ending December 15. And the hens are still on the run: What the Chicken Knows is #4.
In Portland, Maine: Turtles are # 2 and Chickens are #4.
Let the roosters crow. What the Chicken Knows was named one of the top 100 books of the year! That’s according to the Non-Obvious Company, which evaluated 1,000 of the approximately 3 million new books published last year in America. Take a look at the list of other great titles here.
Ron Charles in his Book Report for CBS News has chosen What the Chicken Knows as one of the best books of 2024. See his report here.
Take Kate’s advice. Kate knows what you should read next. She’s left this shelf note at the Village Well, a bookstore in Culver City in Los Angeles:
Irving and Dorito. Photos at the Toadstool by Oriana Camara.
Have you heard that one? The boy is Irving, the rooster is Dorito, and the bookstore is the Toadstool in Peterborough. The rooster crows, and Sy starts reading from What the Chicken Knows to an overflow crowd. Just another day on the chicken circuit.
Dorito is ready for his close up.This fine little hen came to see Sy.
AudioFile magazine loves the audio edition of the chicken book: “Sy Montgomery is so joyful and enthusiastic while describing her adventures with her flock of chickens that listeners will want to stroke a hen and pick up a rooster just to participate in her positive view of the world. Montgomery is keenly observant and curious. She calls her chickens ‘the ladies,’ and she recognizes each hen’s individual call and personality. She also cites studies demonstrating chicken intelligence but notes they will also mercilessly peck at an injured member of their flock. Montgomery’s desire to restore the natural landscape can collide with her love for her chickens whenever a repopulated critter kills one. Her mixed emotions are obvious: She can’t bring herself to be angry at a natural predator, yet she feels forlorn.”
Chickens are Number 7 on the national Indie Bestseller List for Nonfiction. The list is for the week ending November 10.
Sy shared Fire Chief’s journey at the Planet Action TEDx conference at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. Sy will post the TEDx talk when it’s available.
Popular Hens.What the Chicken Knows has moved up to number two on Boston Globe’s bestseller listfor hardcover nonfiction for the week ending November 17.
And the hens are roosting at number 10 on the Pacific Northwest Indie Bestseller List of nonfiction for the week that ended November 16.
The National Council of Teachers of English met in Boston this week for their annual conference. One of the talks was about What it Means to be a Good Creature.
Come meet some wonderful hens in this new video introducing Sy’s new book, What the Chicken Knows:
Indie booksellers love What the Chicken Knows. Sy’s new book is on November’s Indie Next List Picks. Bookseller Mary O’Malley, of Skylark Bookshop in Columbia, Missouri, says: “As the tender of a small flock of chickens, how could I rate this anything less than a 10? Smarter than we give them credit for and a source of endless amusement, chickens are given their due in this wonderful book.”
Go, hens! What a Chicken Knows is one of Kirkus Reviews’ “20 Best Books to Read in November” and among Barnes & Noble’s “Best Books of November and December 2024.” The Ladies are in fine company–see the other books on the lists here and here.
And both Parade Magazine and People Magazine also suggests that you put the book on your reading list.
What the Chicken Knows, is a Fall Editor’s Pick in Library Journal. See the other great picks here.
Photo by Tia Strombeck.
The Union Leader catches up with the Hen-i-verse. They interviewed Sy:
Montgomery once found herself defending chickens with a man seated next to her on an airplane. Chickens are “dirty and stupid and mean,” the man told her. “And then I discovered he got that impression from working on a factory farm,” Montgomery said.
“I told him my father was a prisoner of war of the Japanese in World War II, and that possibly if he had met the people in the prison at that time, he would have had the same impression,” she said.
They kept talking. “I don’t want to make people feel bad,” she said. “I want to help people see a far more interesting truth about chickens.”
These sorts of conversations happen a lot on plane rides, Montgomery said. “Often people sitting next to me end up talking about animals — I don’t know how that happens,” she said, eyes sparkling.
So what does the chicken know?
“The chicken knows a great deal about relationships, and their importance,” she said. “That is central to a chicken’s life.”
They also understand spatial arrangements, she said. “They are terrific at finding their way around. Some scientific experiments have found that, even in the absence of landmarks, a chicken can find the exact center of even a space they’ve never been to before.”
Chickens also know a lot about communication, Montgomery said. “They are able to transmit complex messages to each other,” she said. “So they are having very meaningful conversations. They’re not just saying bok-bok-bok.”
“It may be that the most underestimated of animals still have revelations to share with us,” she said.
Sy talks Chickens with Steve Curwood, host of Living on Earth:
Steve: You point out in your book that if you go to the dictionary to look up “chicken,” you see it listed first as flesh, something to be eaten, not even mentioning the creature itself. And I think probably most of us, you know that’s how we are acquainted with chickens, as something that goes on the dinner plate. Why should people know more about these birds in a personal way, why dedicate a whole book to them, Sy?
Sy: Well, dead and cooked is never the best way to get to know someone. So, I kind of think it’s a waste of a perfectly good friendship to cook and eat them. But chickens are the one bird that even if you can’t recognize a crow, even if you can’t recognize a robin, people can identify a chicken. But even though we recognize them, and everyone thinks they know a chicken, people underestimate them all the time. Chickens have a lot of wonderful things about them, but to me, the most wonderful of all is their company, and being able to travel in the chicken universe, and be able to see that even in this, you know, commonest of creatures that everyone can recognize, there is still like mystery and excitement. There’s still a soul there. Each animal is highly individual, and we have so much to learn from them.
And Sy got to talk chickens with animal behavior expert Marc Beckoff in Psychology Today. Read the interview.
In good company. Seen at the airport.
The just-published paperback of Of Time and Turtles has debuted at number 6 on The Boston Globe’s list of paperback nonfiction.
Sy, Matt and Firechief (in spirit) wowed them in San Francisco in their turtle talk for the Turtle Survival Alliance and Bookshop West Portal (80 West Portal Ave.) West Coast, East Coast, Sy and Matt are happy to talk turtles – or talk to turtles.
The German edition of The Hummingbird’s Gift is out.
Hail to the Chief – The Fire Chief. Booklist loves The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle: “The incredible story of Fire Chief is captivating on its own, and the illustrations only add to that appeal. Using what’s described as “a funny grip on the paintbrush,” the illustrator creates life-like images that heighten the drama while giving Fire Chief just enough of a smile to give him personality. Readers will find themselves rooting for him from the start. Young readers will be fascinated by the real-life resilience of this turtle and inspired by the people who helped him survive.”
Otis loves Fire Chief. 
“Tired of doomscrolling and dopamine hits that fade fast?” asks the website Times Now. Well, they say, you need some Octo-therapy. You need to read The Soul of an Octopus, and nine other books.
Here comes Fire Chief. His life-story will be published this September. Kirkus Reviews gets in the first word:
Arms out octo lovers. Barnes and Noble has published its own paperback edition of the Secrets of the Octopus. The bookstore says: “This paperback edition is available only at Barnes & Noble! The jacket has a unique exclusive edition cover, including foil details.”
Animal Memoirs are Going Wild. Sy was interviewed by Alexandra Alter for her delightful tour of books about hares, foxes, owls, snails and other animals in The New York Times Book Review. From the story:
The jump in egg prices has been news for months, but on the opinion page of The New York Times Sy reveals a much more important story – a tragedy with a solution.
Of Time and Turtles arrives in Germany. Here it is the second book in the Diogenes spring catalog
Sy and Matt thank the Lake Sunapee Protection Association for bringing them to a great school and a great town for two talks. They loved meeting the kids, the adults, and the fabulous board members and volunteers at the lake association and the Abbott Library.
Firechief is ready for his close-up. His story will be told in a new book by Sy and Matt Patterson: The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle. The pub date is this September. Watch the lovable chief here.
Sy enjoyed meeting the students of the Princeton Day School.
Ciao Italia. Next month an Italian translation Of Time and Turtles will be published. The title and subtitle are slightly modified, and reads roughly: The Time of Turtles: How the Longest-Living Animal Teaches Us to Take Care of Ourselves and the World.
The American Library Association has chosen Brave Baby Hummingbird as one of their Notable Children’s Books — for all ages! See the other excellent books they selected here.
Sy says: “I never thought I’d attain the literary distinction of being featured in France’s top magazine for chicken lovers, Poulettes! Though I majored in French in college, I cheated: my answers were translated from the English.”
Turtles are coming to Taiwan. In March, Of Time and Turtles will be published in Taiwan .
Ron Charles in his Book Report for CBS News has chosen What the Chicken Knows as one of the best books of 2024. See his report here.
Sy shared Fire Chief’s journey at the Planet Action TEDx conference at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. Sy will post the TEDx talk when it’s available.
The National Council of Teachers of English met in Boston this week for their annual conference. One of the talks was about What it Means to be a Good Creature.
Indie booksellers love What the Chicken Knows. Sy’s new book is on November’s Indie Next List Picks. Bookseller Mary O’Malley, of Skylark Bookshop in Columbia, Missouri, says: “As the tender of a small flock of chickens, how could I rate this anything less than a 10? Smarter than we give them credit for and a source of endless amusement, chickens are given their due in this wonderful book.”
Sy, Matt and Firechief (in spirit) wowed them in San Francisco in their turtle talk for the Turtle Survival Alliance and Bookshop West Portal (80 West Portal Ave.) West Coast, East Coast, Sy and Matt are happy to talk turtles – or talk to turtles.
