Archives de catégorie : Animals

OUR FAMILIARS d’Anne Coombs

How do animals guard, serve, and care for us? And how and why do we love them so much?

OUR FAMILIARS:
The meaning of animals in our lives
by Anne Coombs
Upswell (Australia), August 2024
(via Black Inc. Books)

Anne Coombs spent a lifetime working to understand the profound answers that come from these two deceptively simple questions. Before her death in late 2021 she researched the topic extensively and reflected deeply on her own experiences with animals, both domestic and in the paddocks. The animals in her life were privy to her deepest and darkest emotions: her despair, her tears and her love. Opening with the story of Anne’s childhood familiar, Elsie the goat—and introducing Lena the donkey, her beloved dogs, Charlie the cat, the cows on the farm, and Vincent the horse—this tender book takes us on an expansive journey that is part personal memoir, part insightful research, and part noble call to action.

In OUR FAMILIARS Anne has left us with a beautiful meditation on the awe-inspiring responsibility we take on with other living creatures: from their containment and loss of freedom, to our intense and mysteriously mutual love. With wit, humour, and insight, she asks us to feel wonder as we watch how our animal companions live, and to empathise deeply with OUR FAMILIARS.

Anne Coombs was a journalist, author, political activist, and philanthropist. She authored five books, including No Man’s Land (Simon & Schuster, 1993), Sex and Anarchy: The life and death of the Sydney Push (Viking, 1996) and Broometime (Hodder Headline, 2001), co-authored with Susan Varga. Her final novel, Glass Houses, was published in 2023 by Upswell. Anne was one of the founders of Rural Australians for Refugees. She was a board member and chair of GetUp! She shared a passion with her partner for a fairer Australia, advocating for refugees and people seeking asylum. In recent years Anne was a frequent essayist and commentator, and a regular contributor to the Griffith Review. She also wrote a feature film script set in Australia’s far north, currently being developed for production. Anne died at her Exeter home in December 2021.

NOSE TO NOSE de Thyra Heder

From the critically acclaimed author-illustrator of Alfie, Thyra Heder’s NOSE TO NOSE is an insightful and hilarious picture book about trying to make new friends as the new dog in town and the courage it takes to face a problem “nose to nose”.

NOSE TO NOSE
by Thyra Heder
BYR/Abrams, September 2024

Toby is the new dog on the block, and he can’t wait to meet his neighbors. But his attempts to make friends go largely un-sniffed by his busy neighborhood, and Toby finds being new isn’t so easy. At least he finds a nice, smelly ball at the park. There’s just one problem: The ball actually belongs to another pup, Pancake, who desperately wants it back.

Toby tries his best to explain his mistake, but when his messages get misunderstood, the neighborhood rumors fly: Toby is a bad dog! Beware! Toby doesn’t know if he’ll ever make a friend, but hopefully by being brave and taking a chance, he can make things right.

This pooch-filled story by critically acclaimed author Thyra Heder playfully unveils the currents of communication happening all around us and champions the courage it takes to confront a problem “nose to nose.”

Thyra Heder is the author and illustrator of Sal Boat, Fraidyzoo, The Bear Report, Alfie, and How Do You Dance?. She is also a scenic designer and storyboard artist for film and advertising. She lives in Brooklyn.

THE DEADLIEST! d’Eleanor Spice Rice, illustré par Max Temescu

A series by a funny, expert scientist.

THE DEADLIEST!
by Eleanor Spicer Rice PhD & illustrated by Max Temescu
Norton Young Readers, 2025
(via Gillian MacKenzie Agency)

The Deadliest Spider & The Deadliest Big Cats – Winter 2025

Snake & Flower – Summer 2025

Insects & Sea Creatures – Fall 2025

A humorous STEM graphic novel series for ages 6-9, starring comedic line-ups of deadly (and not-so-deadly) species, each vying for the title of *the* deadliest, as if in a talent contest, while offering scientific facts throughout.

Dr. Eleanor Rice is a celebrated entomologist and author whose books include the nonfiction series Your Hidden Life (Candlewick) and upcoming picture book, After the Rain (Candlewick).

Max Temescu is an illustrator and designer currently based in Baltimore, by way of Philly, New York, St. Louis, and some other places. He loves drawing stories centered on the outdoors, climate justice, careful observation, research, and animals. He has also worked as a book and greeting card designer.

PLAYING PUZZLES WITH DOLPHINS de Kelly Jaakkola

PLAYING PUZZLES WITH DOLPHINS promises to be a wonderfully informative and entertaining book on how dolphins think, revealing the vast cognitive ability of so many of our animal companions. A book for all readers interested in the latest research on animal intelligence.

PLAYING PUZZLES WITH DOLPHINS
by Kelly Jaakkola, Ph.D.
Anchor/Doubleday, 2025
(via The Martell Agency)

Perhaps more than any other wild creature, we have long been dazzled by dolphin intelligence and their affecting level of interaction with humans. But what is the nature and dimension of dolphin intelligence? Do they count? Do they have language or anything like it? Can they imitate behavior (even if blindfolded)? How do they coordinate their communication and cooperation?

Writing with insight and wit, Jaakkola will reveal the crucial role of puzzles and games for both researching and challenging dolphins’ minds and take readers behind the scenes of her own research on dolphin cognition to show the logic of how we know what we know, as well as the complexity, humor, and pure thrill that comes from running creative experiments with animals who don’t know your intended script and very clearly have minds of their own. The new information presented enhances our understanding of the inner life of these special creatures, as they actually exist and can thrive in nature, not just in the popular imagination.

Kelly Jaakkola is a cognitive psychologist, marine mammal scientist, and Director of Research for DRC. She earned her Masters degree in Psychology from Emory University, where she began her career studying cognition in chimpanzees and human children and received her Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from MIT. Her past research includes studies on number concepts, object permanence, imitation, and communication in dolphins, chimpanzees, and human children. Her current work focuses on dolphin cognition, communication, and welfare.

Dr. Jaakkola’s research has been published in numerous international scientific journals and book chapters, and her work on dolphin cognition has received worldwide coverage in newspapers, magazine articles, books, and television. She has taught courses on human and animal cognition at several colleges and chairs the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums.

A HORSE NAMED SKY de Rosanne Parry

Exiled from his band, a young, wild horse must find his way across treacherous terrain to reunite with his family after being captured for the Pony Express. Horn Book calls A HORSE NAMED SKY “engrossing and fast-paced.” This Voice on the Wilderness novel is an enthralling survival story about wild horses, family bonds, and a changing environment.

A HORSE NAMED SKY
by Rosanne Parry
Greenwillow Books, August 2023

Young colt Sky was born with the urge to run. Alongside his band, he moves across the range searching for fresh water and abundant grazing. But humans have begun to encroach on Sky’s homelands. With fewer resources to share, Sky knows that he must leave if his family is to survive. He hopes that one day he’ll be strong and brave enough to return and challenge the stallion to lead the herd.

Being a lone wild horse in a vast landscape is not easy, and things get even more dangerous when Sky is captured and forced to run for the Pony Express. Now, against all odds, Sky must find a way to escape and reunite with his family.

A HORSE NAMED SKY is a stand-alone companion novel to Rosanne Parry’s New York Times bestsellers A Wolf Called Wander and A Whale of the Wild. Chronicling the perils of westward expansion and the grueling Pony Express from the perspective of a wild horse, A HORSE NAMED SKY is a gripping animal survival story about family, courage, trust, leadership, and loyalty. Impeccably researched and illustrated in black-and-white throughout, A Horse Named Sky is an excellent read-aloud for parents and teachers and a wonderful choice for fans of DreamWorks’ Spirit and Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty.

Includes black-and-white illustrations throughout, a map, and extensive back matter about wild horses and their habitats.

A HORSE NAMED SKY is a New York Times bestseller and companion to two other outstanding novels by Roseanne Parry, A Whale of the Wild and A Wolf Called Wander. Parry has an uncanny ability to tell stories from the viewpoint of wild animals that submerses the reader into their worlds. Kids will become wrapped up in the adventure of Sky, a young colt forced to leave his family in order to survive. Parry weaves important environmental themes throughout an emotional story about finding home.