Rickie and Henri [Hardcover]

Jane Goodall (Author), Alan Marks (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Rickie the chimpanzee loved living with her mother in the rain forests of Central Africa, warm and safe. Until the day the hunters came, and took Rickie away to sell at a Congelese market. Luckily, she was resuced by a kind man who adopted Rickie and cared for her. Best of all, he provided an unexpected friend in his dog Henri. This true story of friendship is heart-warmingly brought to life by renowned scientist Dr. Jane Goodall.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3–This is a quiet yet candid story about Rickie, a chimpanzee who lost her mother in a brutal hunter's attack, and who was taken from the rain forest to be sold in Brazzaville, Congo Republic. Goodall does not shy away from the imagined suffering a chimpanzee infant would experience in such circumstances yet the story remains elegant. Rickie bonded with the Congolese man who took her home and found it intolerable when he left on a business trip, so she became deeply attached to the family dog, Henri. Operating on various levels, this story is about the plight of African animals, human kindness, and the compassion and friendship animals can exhibit toward one another. The illustrations masterfully capture terror and despair in Rickie's eyes without being maudlin–they are honest and clearly support the story. Goodall closes with a postscript about Rickie and a Web site for her institute for wildlife research, education, and conservation.–Linda M. Kenton, San Rafael Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* PreS-Gr. 3. Renowned wildlife conservationist Goodall tells a heartbreaking animal story in a powerful picture book that stays true to the experience of a baby chimpanzee in Central Africa. It begins in the wild rain forest with a full-page close-up of the baby in the loving embrace of her mother. Then a hunter shoots the mother and offers the traumatized baby for sale in a Brazzaville market. She is saved by a kind Congolese businessman. He loves her, and she loves him, but the rest of his family is hostile. While the man is at work, she bonds with Henri, the family's shaggy, brown dog. It's your archetypal abandoned foundling story, and Marks' line-and-watercolor illustrations show the baby wrenched from her mother's arms, in loving connection with a man and a dog, and, finally, with a chimp mother in a Jane Goodall orphan sanctuary. Set against softly colored backgrounds, the pictures occasionally verge on the sentimental, but few children will be able to resist the images of the small black chimp with huge, sad eyes clinging tightly to the dog, riding on his back, or curled sleeping against him. Goodall makes clear the terror and the love, and in a brief afterword she asks for readers' support in sanctuaries' work. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Minedition; First edition. edition (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 069840002X
• ISBN-13: 978-0698400023
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #435,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JANE GOODALL continues to study and write about primate behavior. She founded the Gombe Stream Research Center in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, and the Jane Goodall Institute for Wild Life Research, Education, and Conservation to provide ongoing support for field research on wild chimpanzees. She is the author of many books, including two autobiographies in letters, Africa in My Blood and Beyond Innocence. Today Dr. Goodall spends much of her time lecturing, sharing her message of hope for the future, and encouraging young people to make a difference in their world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Four Year Old LOVES This Book!, July 5, 2005

By 

Uruviel Ancalímon (Kirkland, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rickie and Henri (Hardcover)

Very compassionately written, this true story takes the reader (or audience) into a story about a baby chimp named Rickie, who is tragically separated from her mother by a hunter. Rickie is taken to a village to be sold, but a compassionate man (aptly referred to as 'Guardian') takes Rickie home with him and cares for her. When he goes on a business trip, Rickie bonds with Henri the scruffy dog.

I don't want to spoil the ending, so I won't. Our four year old son loves this book, and he doesn't impress easily! He's never had a problem with sitting through it and I never once got the impression that it was over head or too much for him. The books holds much truth, in a manner very appropriate for younger ones.

For myself, I loved the fact that Ms. Goodall refers to Henri and Rickie's "owner" as their Guardian, as it should be.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pair this with THe Two Bobbies, August 2, 2010

By 

M. E. Pesko "lit lady" (glendale springs, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rickie and Henri: A True Story (Hardcover)

THere are more and more picture books about animals bonding to each other. Rickie and Henri is a very straight forward, detailed account of how a chimpanzee and a dog came to trust each other.

5.0 out of 5 stars Bittersweet Story, well written!, September 14, 2011

By 

K. Miller "mara's mommy" (Vernonia, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rickie and Henri (Hardcover)

My seven year old daughter came home from school the week before last, telling me all about this book. She loved the story! It is well written with cute pictures. I am really glad I bought a copy for my daughter!