How to Be a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery
Nonfiction
What it is: Naturalist and award-winning author (The Soul of an Octopus) Sy Montgomery explores the ways animals have taught her “to be a good creature” in thirteen essays about the animals she became acquainted with at home and in the wild. A Scottish terrier called Molly was Sy's childhood muse, providing inspiration to closely and intimately study animals. A surprise encounter with an ermine in the henhouse teaches Sy to appreciate her mother’s ferocity and determination. Emus, a special pig, an octopus, tigers, tarantulas, more dogs and beloved pets are portrayed with love and wonder, and as valued parts of the human existence.
Why you might like it: Part memoir, part natural history, this charming little book is filled with boundless enthusiasm, curiosity, and love. Fall in love with some of the animals—Christopher Hogwood’s big personality is irresistible, and you might be surprised by tenderness toward a tarantula. Along the way you’ll experience Sy’s frankly shared struggles with depression and her joy as her connection to animals help her to remember “the wildness that keeps us sane and whole, the wild, delicious hunger for life.” Appealing illustrations by Rebecca Green add whimsy.
You might also like: H Is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald, The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar by Martin Windrow, or The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery.
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