The Book of Turtles

Everyone loves turtles. And no wonder: long-lived, unhurried, and ancient, these shelled reptiles are fascinating.

Turtles are also endlessly surprising. There are turtles with soft shells, turtles with googly eyes, turtles with necks longer than their bodies, and turtles whose shells glow in the dark!

And each turtle, of each of the more than 300 kinds, is an individual. You’ll meet some of them here: Lonesome George, the last of his kind on Earth. And Myrtle, the 90-year-old green sea turtle, who has 7,000 followers on Facebook.

What questions might you ask a turtle? You’ll find many of the answers in this gorgeous compendium—and perhaps be inspired to help at a time that these reptiles, who evolved at the same time as the dinosaurs, face the deadliest dangers of their more than 380-million year history.

Of Time and Turtles Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell

By Sy Montgomery, Matt Patterson (Illustrator)
HarperCollins (09/19/2023) 9780358458180

Of Time and Turtles - Link

With elegance, journalistic curiosity, and gorgeous artwork, this nonfiction narrative relates the dramas and insights gleaned from working in a hospital for injured, sick, and abandoned turtles—and at the same time, investigates the mystery of time itself. (Really, who better than these long-lived, ancient reptiles to help probe what philosophy considers, along with consciousness, the “hard problem” of time?) Lived during the pandemic, when life for many seemed stalled and broken, the stories of courage and patience in these pages testify to the power we all have to mend our shattered world.

From the Publisher:

In the basement of a bright green but otherwise ordinary suburban house, two women are caring for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of sick and injured turtles.

There are painted and snapping turtles whose shells were crushed by cars; spotted turtles who were chewed by dogs; box turtles with shells deformed from years of inept care in captivity; exotic pet tortoises abandoned by their owners; turtles rescued from the illegal trade in wildlife; baby turtles hatched from eggs rescued from slain mothers.

Some of these cases seem hopeless. Turtles arrive with brain trauma, broken jaws, missing limbs. Fire Chief, a 42-pound, 60-year-old snapping turtle was hit by a truck, his back legs paralyzed, his shell smashed and bloodied. But Turtle Rescue League’s motto is “Never give up on a Turtle.” And when National Book award finalist Sy Montgomery and wildlife artist Matt Patterson joined them as volunteers, they took part in heart-pounding dramas and breathtaking miracles. Working with extraordinary humans and extraordinary turtles (including Fire Chief) forever changed their lives in ways they never could have suspected.

During the pandemic, much of the human world seemed to languish. But while helping heal the wounded, visiting a breeding facility for the world’s most endangered species, protecting backyard nests, and rescuing endangered cold-stunned sea turtles from a wintry beach, Montgomery and her companions found hope and meaning. During an era when clock and calendar seemed to stall, turtles–ancient, long-lived, shell-covered beings whose kind arose with the dinosaurs—proved to be unexpected guides to probing the mysteries of time itself.

Hopeful and deeply researched, warm and astonishing, this book is an invitation to slip into turtle time—not the tick-tock hurry of human hustle, but the sacred, eternal time of daylight, darkness, and seasons. It’s a story that shows us a way to heal a world beset with unprecedented perils, shell by shattered shell.

In 2010, UPNE published my first book, Freshwater Fish of New the Northeast, written by my father, David Patterson. Pairing his lively text with my 62 original illustrations, the book was honored with a National Outdoor Book Award—and more importantly, we had a blast working on it together through many fishing expeditions or as we told people “business trips.” Tragically, a year before last, my father passed away. But Brandeis University Press will be re-issuing this book April 19th with a slightly new cover, a new introduction written by me, and a new foreword written by Sy Montgomery.

Available for sale at this link - FRESHWATER FISH OF THE NORTHEAST

THE SNAKE AND THE SALAMANDER Reptiles and Amphibians from Maine to Virginia

Available for sale at this link - https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/snake-and-salamander

From Johns Hopkins University Press -

A beautifully illustrated tour of the region’s snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs, and salamanders.

In the best tradition of natural history writing and art, The Snake and the Salamander explores the diverse collection of reptiles and amphibians that inhabit the northeastern quadrant of the United States. Covering thirteen states that run from Maine to Virginia, author Alvin R. Breisch and artist Matt Patterson showcase the lives of 83 species of snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs, and salamanders. These intriguing animals are organized by habitat and type, from forest to grassland to bog to big waters, and revealed through a combination of Breisch’s engaging prose and Patterson’s original color illustrations.

Breisch’s guided tour combines historical notes and conservation issues with lessons on genetics, evolution, habitats, life histories, and more. Discover how careful attention to frog calls coupled with DNA analysis led to the discovery of a new species of frog in New York City, why evolutionary adaptations made the Eastern Ratsnake a superb climber, and the surprising fact that Spiny Softshell turtles actually sprint on land to retreat from predators. Breisch also tells the odd tale of the Green Frog and the Smooth Greensnake, two “green species” that do not actually have any green pigment in their skin. Every species has a story to tell—one that will keep the reader wanting to learn more. The breadth of herpetofauna in the area will surprise many readers: more than 8% of the world’s salamanders and 11% of all turtle species live in the region. Beyond numbers, however, lie aesthetics. The surprising colors and fascinating lifestyles of the reptile and amphibian species in this book will mesmerize readers young and old.

Alvin R. Breisch, a collaborator with the Roosevelt Wild Life Station, was the amphibian and reptile specialist and the director of the Amphibian and Reptile Atlas Project for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation until his retirement in 2009. He is the coauthor of The Amphibians and Reptiles of New York State: Identification, Natural History, and Conservation. Matt Patterson is the illustrator of Freshwater Fish of the Northeast, which won the 2010 National Outdoor Book Award in the category of Design and Artistic Merit.

8 x 10 x .45, 192 pp., 93 color illus.

Newspaper and Magazine articles covering The Snake and the Salamander.

Monadnock Ledger - http://www.ledgertranscript.com/Patterson-illustrates-reptile-guide-8372217

NH Magazine - http://www.nhmagazine.com/March-2017/Matt-Pattersons-Nature-Studies/

Altamont Enterpise - https://altamontenterprise.com/03142017/breisch-identifies-nature-and-worth-%E2%80%98herps%E2%80%99-our-midst