“Becoming a Good Creature” is a kid-friendly adaptation of Sy Montgomery’s “How to Be a Good Creature.” Both are illustrated by Rebecca Green, and are available at local bookstores and online.
Her experience with Molly would open the door to the secrets of others in the animal kingdom. Lizards could re-grow their tails, she discovered. Crickets could sing by fiddling their legs against their wings. Lightning bugs could glow in the dark. But she would go on to discover secrets even more amazing. After college and a stint in the work world, she went to Australia, eventually moving into a tent in the outback. There, she studied emus, the ancient, ostrich-like birds that she says have “legs on which they can run at 40 miles per hour” that are “strong enough to sever fencing wire with a single kick.” She studied them in the same way that Jane Goodall had studied the chimpanzees, observing from afar and recording what they did all day. And then, as they got used to her, gradually moving closer and closer. Montgomery found that emus were smart, and even had a sense of humor. She tells of a time when three emus teased a dog on a chain, coming to just where they knew the HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT hmhbooks.com dog couldn’t reach. They “then leapt in the air, kicking their legs, flinging their necks — and the dog went wild. Then they ran off to a safe distance, flopped onto the ground, and preened themselves — apparently well-satisfied with the success of their prank.”
Though Montgomery says there were no major scientific breakthroughs to report on her emu study, the tall-as-a-man creatures gave her the gift of allowing her into their lives. She says, “Most people know animals in only one of a very few ways: we take animals into our homes as pets. We take them into our bodies as food. Most people never get to really know wild animals on the animals’ terms.” You can trace her journeys from the outback onward with the celebrated books she has written and recorded, several of them translated into other languages. The “Soul of an Octopus” is one that’s gotten a lot of attention. In the book, a finalist for the National Book Awards in 2015 and another New York Times bestseller, Montgomery shows that octopuses are not alien sea monsters, but intelligent, sensitive, even playful creatures. And at home in Hancock, where she lives in a 150-year-old farmhouse with her husband Howard Mansfield, also a celebrated writer, inspiration for another beloved book came from a pig named Christopher Hogwood, who lived on their farm. “The Good Good Pig,” an international bestseller, tells the tale of smart,
with important work to do, herding sheep, cows, and pigs when they grew up. All the babies already had farm families waiting for them. All but one—one puppy had a blind eye. Would I take him?
has scuba-dived with octopuses in the Pacific, swum with piranhas, electric eels, and dolphins in the Amazon, worked in a pit crawling with 18,000 snakes in Manitoba, and handled a wild tarantula in French Guiana—all to research thirty books. She is a National Book Award finalist and has also been honored with a Sibert Medal. She lives in Hancock, New Hampshire, with her husband, Howard Mansfield, and their border collie, Thurber. Visit her online at symontgomery.com and on Twitter @SyTheAuthor.
is an illustrator of many children’s and middle grade books, including The Unicorn in the Barn, Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea, Madame Saqui, and From Far Away. She is also the author and illustrator of How to Make Friends with a Ghost. This is her second collaboration with Sy Montgomery, their first being How to Be a Good Creature. She resides with her husband and their lovely animals, Mori and Junie B. You can find more of her work at rebeccagreenillustration.com or on Instagram @rebeccagreenillustration. Jacket illustrations © 2020 by Rebecca Green / Jacket design by Jessica Handelman Author and illustrator photo by Carla Schooler Lafontaine
$17.99/Higher in Canada ISBN 978-0-358-25210-8
soulful pig who becomes a village celebrity, then gains national fame. Montgomery calls him a “great Buddha master” who has taught her and others many life lessons. What new adventures — with books to follow — might there be, at home in Hancock or in the wider world for a woman The Boston Globe calls “part Emily Dickson, part Indiana Jones”? Think turtles. NH
$17.99/Higher in C
has had many teachers in two legs, others with four, have had fur, feathers, or all had one thing in commo The animals Sy has world travels have taugh understanding in the mo from being patient to find respecting others. Gorilla tigers, and more have all s are no limits to the empa find in one another if onl to connect. Based on the New York adult memoir, Sy Montgo Green have created this guide for anyone who wi creature in the world.
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symontgomery.com Learn more about “Becoming a Good Creature,” and discover Sy Montgomery’s many other books. nhmagazine.com | January/February 2021
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