Working with Nic Bishop on a “Scientists in the Field” book always entails thrilling moments. Together, with the men and women whose work we chronicle, we’ve handled wild tarantulas in French Guiana, walked among 18,000 slithering snakes in Canada, and traveled on Bactrian camels in Mongolia in search of snow leopards.?Guest Blogger: Sy Montgomery
Working with Nic Bishop on a “Scientists in the Field” book always entails thrilling moments. Together, with the men and women whose work we chronicle, we’ve handled wild tarantulas in French Guiana, walked among 18,000 slithering snakes in Canada, and traveled on Bactrian camels in Mongolia in search of snow leopards.?
“I think you should write a book called Green.” One evening in 2007, I received an email from Neal Porter. He wrote, “Here’s a title for you and Pete. Green.” Neal Porter is my editor at Macmillan’s Roaring Brook Press. We’ve worked together on each of the 15 books I’ve written and illustrated. In the past, most of the ideas for the books have originated in my journal. This was the first time we began with just a title.
Snakes are tricky creatures, both to photograph and to handle. Their long thin bodies and surface-hugging habits don't necessarily create the best photographic compositions, and their nervous natures don’t permit easy interaction, especially with those of us carrying cameras.
I am deeply moved by the fact that we are nature, that we are stardust and I wanted my new book, You Are Stardust (Owlkids, 2012), to have a lyrical, celebratory, and poetic feel. Yet, finding that voice was difficult.