Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Author), Paula Kahumbu (Author), Peter Greste (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: Haller Park

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 5 When the six-year-old contributor to this book saw the photograph documenting the extraordinary friendship between a baby hippo (Owen) and a 130-year-old giant tortoise (Mzee), she persuaded her father to help tell their story. Originally an e-book, the hardcover version begins with images of the duo, whetting readers' appetite and providing reassurance as the potentially disturbing plot unfolds. After a scene depicting a pod of hippos near the Sabuki River in Kenya, the text describes the 600-pound baby's displacement and separation from the group during the 2004 tsunami. Children witness the challenging rescue and meet the knowledgeable staff at an animal sanctuary. From Owen's first approach for protection to Mzee's unexpected tolerance, the photographs, mostly by BBC photojournalist Greste, capture the pair eating, swimming, snuggling, and playing together. Their contentment and peace are palpable. Because it is sensitively structured, with careful choices about what is emphasized and illustrated, the situation does not overwhelm readers. The text and the back matter are brimming with information about the animals, their caregivers, and the locale. This touching story of the power of a surprising friendship to mitigate the experience of loss is full of heart and hope. A worthy complement is Ann Morris and Heidi Larson's glimpse at a human family's loss and recovery in Tsunami: Helping Each Other (Millbrook, 2005). Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 1-3. Originally published as an e-book, this photo-essay was conceived when Craig Hatkoff and his seven-year-old daughter encountered a newspaper article about a baby hippo orphaned by the 2005 Indonesian tsunami. Parent, child, and a naturalist they consulted are credited as coauthors. The story has a simple, direct appeal: the hippo is dramatically rescued and brought to a Kenyan nature preserve, where it forms a surprising bond with a giant tortoise. Inspirational language about "the power of courage, love, and the preciousness of life" clutters the powerful facts, and not all of the photos are equally crisp and closely cued to the text. But children will nonetheless embrace the incident's compelling anthropomorphic elements, thoughtfully framed by the authors, and will exclaim over the images of the winsome baby and its grizzled surrogate parent. Adults hoping to share the story with young readers may find this preferable to Jeanette Winter's picture book inspired by the same event, Mama (2006), which more starkly emphasizes the trauma of the tsunami itself. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (February 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439829739
• ISBN-13: 978-0439851138
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 9.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,666 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heartwarming story with wonderful pictures!, January 30, 2006

By	Nessie (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews

When I heard that a book had been written about the friendship between Owen, an orphaned hippopotamus, and Mzee, the old tortoise, I knew I had to get it. This is a lovely story that will warm the hearts of children and adults and can be used to illustrate resiliency, the strength of friendship, and how creatures that don't look alike can get along. This book is worth buying for the pictures alone.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Story of Love , February 2, 2006

By	F. Red - See all my reviews

I am simply blown away by everything about this book and story. I have shared this heartwarming story with everyone who will listen. I congratulate Isabella (6 yoa) who had the vision and her father who had the know-how to make this book happen. Regardless of age or gender, you will be astounded by this book; the relationship between the main characters normally just does not happen in nature. But the photos made me a believer. Life is mysterious!

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Genuine Charmer About the Bonding Between Opposites in the Animal Kingdom, May 21, 2006

By	Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have to admit I was drawn into this story when I saw it on CNN. This captivating book - aimed toward children but also quite amenable toward any animal lover - describes the true story of a baby hippo named Owen, an inadvertent victim of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami who was left stranded on a coral reef forever separated from his mother. Taken to a nature reserve to live, Owen meets Mzee, a 130-year old Aldabra tortoise. After some initial resistance from Mzee, the two start to bond, and Mzee becomes the young hippo's protector.

This simple friendship story is told by Manhattan-based children's book author Craig Hatkoff and his six-year old daughter Isabella (who drew the adorable pictures at the end of the book), both so entranced by the photo of the two animals lying peacefully next to each other, that they contacted Dr. Paula Kahumbu, the general manager of the reserve, and Kenya-based photojournalist Peter Greste, who had been meticulously chronicling Owen's rescue and resettlement. The subsequent collaboration among the four has produced an intoxicating chronicle of the unlikely friendship that developed between animals with nothing in common but their dependence on each other. The text is not at all cloying but straightforward and factual.

Having had the good fortune to see the giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands and the hippopotamuses along the Masai River in Kenya, I can tell you that such bonding is extraordinary to see in Greste's wonderful photographs. The authors obviously provide life lessons in strength and resilience and ignoring surface differences toward a greater good. Luckily, sentimentality is kept to a minimum, and the result is a charmer. For those interested in keeping up with Owen and Mzee, caretaker Stephen Tuei keeps an online journal of their daily activities on the Lafarge Eco Systems Web site.