Sy Montgomery is a naturalist, an adventurer a lover of all creatures. Join us as we examine some of the books she has written about our animal friends and discover how they are more similar to us than you might think!
Amazon Adventure by
Considered the "lungs of the world," the Amazon provides a full fifth of the world's oxygen, and every year unsustainable human practices destroy 2.7 million acres. What can be done to help? That's where Project Piaba comes in. Join the award-winning author Sy Montgomery and the photographer Keith Ellenbogen as they traverse the river and rainforest to discover how tiny fish, called piabas, can help preserve the Amazon, its animals, and the rich legacy of its people.Amazon Adventure is an eye-opening--and ultimately hopeful--exploration of how humanity's practices are affecting and shaping not only the Amazon, but our entire environment.
The Magnificent Migration by
Sibert medalist and National Book Award finalist Sy Montgomery takes readers on a staggering, emotional journey alongside the greatest land migration on the planet earth--that of the wildebeest across the Serengeti--to explore the mystery and wonder of migration in a sweeping story sure to leave its mark. With full color photography. Sibert medalist Sy Montgomery takes readers on a staggering, emotional journey alongside the greatest land migration on earth--that of the wildebeest across the Serengeti--to provide a you-are-there account of one of nature's most fascinating occurrences. Montgomery explores the wonder of migration, asking questions like, how do migration patterns sculpt the environment? Why do animals migrate? And how do they know where to go? With lyrical prose, abundant facts, and the inclusion of other species who undertake remarkable migrations, Montgomery makes a journey of thousands of miles fly by--but not without leaving its mark. Full color photography.
Kakapo Rescue by
2011 Sibert Medal Winner On remote Codfish Island off the southern coast of New Zealand live the last ninety-one kakapo parrots on earth. These trusting, flightless, and beautiful birds--the largest and most unusual parrots on earth--have suffered devastating population loss. Now, on an island refuge with the last of the species, New Zealand's National Kakapo Recovery Team is working to restore the kakapo population. With the help of fourteen humans who share a single hut and a passion for saving these odd ground-dwelling birds, the kakapo are making a comeback in New Zealand. Follow intrepid animal lovers Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop on a ten-day excursion to witness the exciting events in the life of the kakapo.
The Great White Shark Scientist by
Dr. Greg Skomal, biologist and head of the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, is investigating a controversial possibility: Might Cape Cod's waters serve as a breeding ground for the great white shark, the largest and most feared predatory fish on Earth? Sy Montgomery and Keith Ellenbogen report on this thrilling turning point in marine research and travel to Guadeloupe, Mexico, to get up close and personal with the sharks. This daring expedition into the realm of great whites shows readers that in order to save the planet and its creatures, we must embrace our humanity and face our greatest fears.
Condor Comeback by
*Winner of the 2021 Green Earth Book Award* Sibert Medalist, National Book Award Honoree, andNew York Timesbest-selling author Sy Montgomery turns her formidable talents to the story of California condors and the scientists who have fought against their extinction in this installment in the award-winning Scientists in the Field series. In April of 1987 the last wild California condor was captured and taken to live in captivity like the other twenty-six remaining birds of its kind. Many thought that the days were over of of this remarkable, distinguished bird that had roamed the skies of North and Central American for thousands of years. Sy Montgomery employs her skill for on-the-ground reporting, shrewd observation, and stunning narrative prose to detail the efforts of scientists, volunteers, and everyday citizens to get California condors back in the wild. In particular, Montgomery profiles employees at the Santa Barbara Zoo who have worked tirelessly to raise abandoned chicks, nurse sick birds back to health, and conduct research that can support legislation to ban what is probably the largest threat to the existence of the wild condor: lead bullets. In turns affectionate and frustrated, hopeful and heartbreaking, Montgomery's powerful prose does justice to these ancient, sociable, and elegant creatures. Complete with world-class, full-color photography and helpful sidebars that provide details such as the history of the bird's fight back from extinction, the dangers of lead poisoning, and the relationship of condors to the Chumash nation, Condor Comeback is an inspiring story of groundbreaking science, perseverance, and cooperation.
Quest for the Tree Kangaroo by
A 2007 Sibert Honor Book It looks like a bear, but isn't one. It climbs trees as easily as a monkey-- but isn't a monkey, either. It has a belly pocket like a kangaroo, but what's a kangaroo doing up a tree? Meet the amazing Matschie's tree kangaroo, who makes its home in the ancient trees of Papua New Guinea's cloud forest. And meet the amazing scientists who track these elusive animals.
Encantado by
Welcome to a forest filled with water.In the wet season, the swollen Amazon becomes a looking glass into another world, where pink dolphins swim like something from a dream.In Peru they are called bufeo colorado-the ruddy dolphin.Their color ranges from white to gray to a vivid pink.These astonishing mammals, actually river-dwelling whales, easily navigate their way through the complex, hazardous world of the Amazon rain forest. Encantado invites readers on the adventure of a lifetime as we travel into one of the world's most lush and beautiful jungles in search of these magical creatures.Our guides include scientists and researchers as well as the local people, who have lived with the encantados-the enchanted ones-literally at their doorsteps for centuries. Our main guides are the dolphins themselves.They lead us into myth.They take us back in time to a prehistoric era.They alone can show us the depth of the Amazon's beauty, diversity, and magic-and help us to keep our planet rich and whole. AUTHOR Sy Montgomery is an author, naturalist, newspaper columnist, documentary scriptwriter, and radio commentator who writes award-winning books for children as well as adults.
The Octopus Scientists by
With three hearts and blue blood, its gelatinous body unconstrained by jointed limbs or gravity, the octopus seems to be an alien, an inhabitant of another world. It's baggy, boneless body sprouts eight arms covered with thousands of suckers--suckers that can taste as well as feel. The octopus also has the powers of a superhero: it can shape-shift, change color, squirt ink, pour itself through the tiniest of openings, or jet away through the sea faster than a swimmer can follow. But most intriguing of all, octopuses--classed as mollusks, like clams--are remarkably intelligent with quirky personalities. This book, an inquiry into the mind of an intelligent invertebrate, is also a foray into our own unexplored planet. These thinking, feeling creatures can help readers experience and understand our world (and perhaps even life itself) in a new way.
The Snake Scientist by
Dr. Robert Mason has been studying a mysterious phenomenon for over fifteen years: the reemergence of tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes - the world's largest concentration of snakes - after a winter spent in a state of suspended animation in subterranean caverns.This gathering each spring in the forests of Manitoba, Canada, is one of the most extraordinary events of the natural world and is the subject of study for Dr. Mason, a.k.a. the Snake Scientist.
The Tapir Scientist by
If you've never seen a lowland tapir, you're not alone. Most of the people who live near tapir habitat in Brazil's vast Pantanal ("the Everglades on steroids") haven't seen the elusive snorkel-snouted mammal, either. In this arresting nonfiction picture book, Sibert winners Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop join a tapir-finding expedition led by the Brazilian field scientist Pati Medici. Aspiring scientists will love the immediate, often humorous "you are there" descriptions of fieldwork, and gadget lovers will revel in the high-tech science at play, from microchips to the camera traps that capture the "soap opera" of tapir life.
The Hyena Scientist by
This myth-busting new addition to the critically acclaimed Scientists in the Field series by Sibert medal winning team Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop is perfect for nonfiction readers looking for more female scientist narratives, or a fresh perspective on an underrepresented animal--Hyenas! Timely and inspiring,The Hyena Scientist sets the record straight about one of history's most hated and misunderstood mammals, while featuring the groundbreaking, pioneering research of a female scientist in a predominately male field in this offering by Sibert-winning duo Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop. As a scientist studying one of the only mammalian societies led entirely by females, zoologist Kay Holecamp has made it her life's work to understand hyenas, the fascinating, complex creatures that are playful, social, and highly intelligent--almost nothing like the mangy monsters of pop culture lore.
Saving the Ghost of the Mountain by
People call it "The Ghost of the Mountain," for those who live among snow leopards almost never see one. Beautiful spotted coats conceal these elusive cats in their rocky, high-altitude habitat--a place where temperatures are often cold enough to freeze human tears. A thick, long tail for balance helps snow leopards spring at their prey from great distances--prey that is often three times its own size. Slinking along the Mongolian mountain ridges, the snow leopards areinvisible--and almost impossible to study. But that doesn't deter scientist Tom McCarthy, Conservation Director of the Seattle-based Snow Leopard Trust, or his many colleagues from dedicating their lives' work to the study and protection of this seldom-seen creature. And it doesn't stop Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop from packing their bags in order to join Tom on a trek to Mongolia, where they hope to learn more about this magical cat, a cat who doesn't give up its secrets easily. It will take endurance and persistence to climb the dusty mountain trails, hope of a snow leopard sighting rising and falling with each new summit. It will take practice and experience to lay humane leghold snares, collect scat samples, and set up motion-triggered cameras. It will take patience, focus--and yes, love--to dedicate a lifetime learning more about this little-understood creature. But that's the only way the Snow Leopard Trust can protect their charges, beforethe snow leopard truly becomes nothing but a ghost of the mountain. With a dazzling, as-it-happens narrative and spectacular photographs, Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop bring Mongolia up close for readers everywhere.
The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans by
Along the Bay of Bengal between India and Bangladesh stretches a strange and beautiful flooded forest. This enchanted forest is called the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve and is home to more tigers than anywhere else on earth. There are said to be some five hundred tigers here. Nowhere else do tigers live in a mangrove swamp. And nowhere else do healthy tigers routinely hunt people. Yet about three hundred people are killed each year by the tigers of Sundarbans. No one knows why. The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans is a mystery story, but it is also a story about science and myth, about people and tigers, and about different ways of seeing the natural world. Sy Montgomery traveled to Sundarbans searching for answers to the mysteries surrounding these tigers. She listened to what scientists had to say about the unusual tiger behavior and to the stories of the villagers who revere the very animals who hunt them.
Chasing Cheetahs by
Since the year 1900, cheetah footprints quickly dwindled in African dirt as the species plummeted from more than 100,000 to fewer than 10,000. At the Cheetah Conservation Fund's (CCF) African headquarters in Namibia, Laurie Marker and her team save these stunning, swift, and slender creatures from extinction. Since the organization's start in 1990, they've rescued more than 900 cheetahs, most of whom have been returned to the wild. But this arduous challenge continues. For most African livestock farmers, cheetahs are the last thing they want to see on their properties. In the 1980s, as many as 19 cheetahs per farmer died each year. Cheetahs were considered vermin--but, in learning more about this magnificent species, we know this is far from true. Today, CCF acts as a liaison between the farmers and the cheetahs, in order to promote cohabitation in an ecosystem that cannot thrive without the existence of the precious and predatory cheetah. On a wild ride through the African wilderness--sometimes sniffing out scents left in the dirt--Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop join CCF in studying the cheetah's ecological, genetic, and behavioral patterns in order to chase down the fastest animal on land and save the species--before it is too late.
Search for the Golden Moon Bear by
Join Sy Montgomery as she travels far and wide in search of the golden moon bear. Along with her research companions, she delves deep into the jungles of the Elephant Mountains, visits the bustling streets of Cambodian cities, explores remote villages, and attends a Club Med for bears in Thailand--all while carrying marshmallows and tweezers for her encounters with the bears along the way. The quest for the golden moon bear takes us on an exhilarating journey and chronicles the detective work and science behind tracking a new species in a different part of the world, where bears are kept as pets and where sometimes things aren't quite what they seem . . .
Temple Grandin by
When Temple Grandin was born, her parents knew that she was different. Years later she was diagnosed with autism. While Temple's doctor recommended a hospital, her mother believed in her. Temple went to school instead. Today, Dr. Temple Grandin is a scientist and professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Her world-changing career revolutionized the livestock industry. As an advocate for autism, Temple uses her experience as an example of the unique contributions that autistic people can make. This compelling biography complete with Temple's personal photos takes us inside her extraordinary mind and opens the door to a broader understanding of autism.
