Susannah Buhrman-Deever is a trained biologist with a PhD in behavioral biology who specializes in animal behavior and ecology. She is the author of Predator and Prey, illustrated by Bert Kitchen, and If You Take Away the Otter, illustrated by Matthew Trueman, a Bank Street College Cook Prize Honor Book. In addition to her writing and academic work, she also developed ecology curricula for the Lion Conservation Fund. Susannah Buhrman-Deever lives with her husband and sons in New York, where she enjoys hiking through forests, paddling on the water, and puttering in her garden.
Gina Triplett and Matt Curtius are a wife-and-husband artistic team who have shared a collaborative studio in Philadelphia for more than ten years. They have worked on projects ranging from public art to advertising to print books for children and adults. Gina Triplett has exhibited throughout the US and abroad. Matt Curtius is an associate professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
I grew up in central New York with my parents, older sister, and younger brother. I still live in New York with my husband and sons, about two hours northwest from where I grew up. Over the years, I’ve lived in or traveled to a few other places (and fell in love with many of them), but upstate New York, with its forests and lakes and hills, will always feel like home.
I was a very shy child and spent a lot of time watching and thinking. I’ve learned how to pretend to not be shy when necessary, but I think that early shyness prepared me for both my past work as a scientist and also now as a writer. I’ve spent a lot of time watching animals, trying to understand why they do what they do. Writing also involves a lot of watching and quiet work—noticing and thinking, finding the right details, and dreaming up ideas.
About My Work
Although I’ve left my formal work as a biologist, I’m forever inspired by the natural world. It’s so big and complicated and wonderful. There’s always more to explore.
Three Things You Might Not Know About Me:
As a kid, I spent six weeks in a body cast after breaking my leg in a sledding accident. An important safety note for everyone out there: Watch out for trees.
I’ve had several animal-related jobs: a honeybee-swarm researcher, a parrot researcher, a fish cataloger in a natural history collection, and a volunteer at a gibbon sanctuary.
My garden is my happy place. I’m a little obsessed with digging in the dirt and growing things, and I'm always coming up with new projects.
