"A luxe, full color picture book adaptation of Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green's New York Times bestselling How to Be a Good Creature"--

National Book Award finalist Sy Montgomery reflects on the personalities and quirks of 13 animals--her friends--who have profoundly affected her in this stunning, poetic, and life-affirming memoir featuring illustrations by Rebecca Green.

Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction * New York Times Bestseller * A Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year * One of the Best Books of the Month on Goodreads * Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year * An American Library Association Notable Book of the Year “Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk did for raptors.” —New Statesman, UK “One of the best science books of the year.” —Science Friday, NPR Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this “fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining” (The Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans. In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food. Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.

Winner of the Moonbeam Children's Animals/Pets Non-Fiction Gold Medal! A story about the fundamental connection between animals and people and how we can treat all of Earth's creatures with compassion and empathy. Furry polar bears, playful sea otters, slow sloths, prickly porcupines, and slimy snakes are just a few of the many animals we share our world with. And even though we might not look the same or have the same needs as our animal neighbors, we have more in common with them than we might think. Our Animal Neighbors introduces children to the importance of treating all animals with the care and compassion they deserve. We all want to experience love, safety, and respect and this book is the first step to instilling those values at an early age. This planet is our home, and we should all be free to live a prosperous life regardless of whether we have hands, hooves, scales, or fur. “A serious message delivered with humor, simplicity, and charm makes this book an excellent purchase for families that value open-ended discussions. Also a good resource for classrooms and libraries that welcome diverse opinions and points of view.”—School Library Journal

"Stunning. . . . a bit like if you took Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Monsters Inc. and shoved them in a TARDIS."—Buzzfeed It’s a tentacled, inventive, gooey, world in there. . . . Elliot Von Doppler and his friend Leslie think nothing ever happens in Bickleburgh, except inside the gleaming headquarters of DENKi-3000—the world’s eighth-largest electronics factory. Beneath the glass towers and glittering skywalks, there's a rambling old mansion from which all the company’s amazing inventions spring forth. And no one except Uncle Archie knows what’s behind the second-to-last door at the end of the hall. Until Elliot and Leslie are invited to take a glimpse inside. They find stooped, troll-like creatures with jutting jaws and broken teeth. Tiny winged things that sparkle as they fly. And huge, hulking, hairy nonhumans (with horns). It is unlike anything they’ve ever seen. But when Chuck Brickweather threatens to shut down the DENKi-3000 factory if a new product isn’t presented soon, the creatures know they are in danger. And when Uncle Archie vanishes, it’s up to Elliot, Leslie, and every one of the unusual, er, “employees” to create an invention so astonishing it will save the Creature Department.

Photographer Andrew Zuckerman's collection of astonishing studio portraits of 175 wild creatures from baby leopards to parrots, bears, mandrills, and many more are stunningly foregrounded against white backgrounds, depicting their subjects with rare sensitivity, insight, humor, and wonder. --From publisher description.

A delightful picture book about a creature of habit whose routine suddenly gets disrupted by the unexpected arrival of a new friend. A perfect story for little readers learning social emotional skills that explores the joy of trying something new! A very big creature with big teeth, big eyes, and very big feet lives on the island of Habit. Every day the creature happily does the exact same things in the exact same order. That is, until a small boat carrying a very small creature with small teeth, small eyes, and very, very small feet arrives on the island. The big creature is excited to share his routine, but the small creature has ideas of his own. The little creature does something different every day--it's madness to the big creature! Can these two creatures learn to understand each other? Is the island big enough for both of them? Colorful and captivating, this is a story about learning with and from your friends.

. . . a collection of wonderful and encouraging stories about 'Animal Assisted Therapy.' - Stanley Coren, author of The Intelligence of DogsThis inspiring, humorous, and touching book celebrates the beneficial effects that animals have on humans and describes how their healing potential is being increasingly acknowledged by the medical community. Animal Assisted Therapy, an important new development in health care, has already shown that people are statistically less likely to suffer an early heart attack if they have a pet, and that stroking an animal actually reduces stress levels.This, however, is only the tip of the iceberg, says environmental psychologist Bernie Graham. Animal Assisted Therapy is now achieving amazing results in treating children with physical and mental disabilities by using trained dolphins in acquatic therapy. There are also programs that teach dogs to help the disabled by taking laundry out of the washing machine; selecting, unpacking, and paying for items in the supermarket; and even withdrawing money from the bank. Cats, rabbits, and dogs are now taken into hospitals to comfort the patients, and more exotic animals such as ferrets, donkeys, guinea pigs, monkeys, and even tigers are being used to bring hope to individuals, thereby enhancing human efforts.Written with warmth and compassion, Creature Comfort looks at all aspects of Animal Assisted Therapy, including the theories behind it, to provide both a practical guide and a moving account of the many rewarding human-animal interactions. A must for pet lovers, health care workers, and anyone who wishes to benefit from this most holistic of therapies.Bernie Graham, an environmental psychologist, is a member of the British Psychological Society, the International Society for Anthrozoology, and the Society for Companion Animal Studies.

There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that's what I thought. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave. Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Presents a compelling new view of our moral relationships to the other animals