Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice Reveals 'Your Pets' Secret Lives'

In Your Pets’ Secret Lives: The Truth Behind Your Pet’s Wildest Behaviors, nonfiction writer and entomologist, Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice, provides readers with a slew of interesting facts about our pets’ everyday lives and how they interact with the world. Illustrated by the talented Rob Wilson, her book is filled with fascinating information about all kinds of creatures, including ants, cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, and even tarantulas! So, what drew Dr. Rice, who specializes in insects, to write books on this topic? She explained, “I love bugs! I’ve loved animals my whole life and when I got to college, I learned that most of the animals that we can see on the planet are bugs, so I thought that if I went into bugs I’d get the most bang for my buck for a four-year degree. That’s where I started paying attention to them and writing about bugs for children because we lose something when we’re young when we’re paying attention to the natural world, and we fall in love with it, you know? …I really wanted to write things for children so that, instead of being afraid of things, they’ll look at things with curiosity and that’s what I’ve been trying to do with all of the children’s books that I write, and this ‘Your Hidden Life’ series, which this book is the second book in the series, the whole series is about things that are going on all around us that we might not see unless we know what to look for.”

When it comes to the illustrator, Rob Wilson, Dr. Rice is a huge fan. While Wilson’s area of expertise is not science, he was able to create the unique illustrations by simply reading the information that was given. She said, “The way that he draws things is the way that I, as an adult who’s spent her life studying the science behind these things, wouldn’t perceive this situation… I wouldn’t think of a… fish tank made out of guppies looking evil or a snake hopping into somebody’s suitcase. That kind of stuff doesn’t even cross my mind, but it crosses his mind because that’s what he envisions when he hears this, and I love that about it. His illustrations are my very favorite thing in the book!”

Amazingly, Dr. Rice has been able to build an entire career around her passion for animals. She remarked, “I feel so lucky that this has worked out this way… it’s so exciting! Everyday you learn something new. Everyday you get to see the world in a way that you wouldn’t have thought of before, and it just makes me so happy! It’s like being a reader… We all get to read these things that we wouldn’t have known otherwise, and I think it helps us to just be fulfilled in our lives.”