Owen & Mzee The Language of Friendship (udgave 2007)

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Although this is a fictional book about a displaced animal from the tsunami in Southeast Asia, this book is about friendship. It shows you that it doesn't matter where you come from, what you look like, or how old you are, there is always a friend there. There's a short paragraph in the back that gives you some background information about Kenya, Mzee, Owen and Haller Park. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and seeing the real life pictures of the tortoise and the hippopotamus together. ( )

Compassion at work... ( )

"When Isabella Hatkoff, at age 6, saw a photograph of Owen and Mzee, she asked her father, Craig Hatkoff, to help her write a book about them. [This book is the result of that request]. . . Dr. Paula Kahumbu, ecologist and conservationist, has devoted her life to studying wild animals and working to preserve and restore their fragile habitats. . .[She helped with this book]. . .Peter Greste is an internationally recognized broadcaster and photo-journalist. . .[His beautiful pictures complete this story]. . .It began in December 2004, when. . .[a] frightened young hippo, separated from his family by the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia, adopted an ancient Aldabra tortoise as his 'mother.' And the old tortoise, for years a loner, accepted the baby hippo as his own. . .[Amazingly. . .the pair seem to have developed their own 'language' of soft sounds and gestures. . . Pronunciation guide included.

This informational book called Owen & Mzee The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship is very enjoyable and interesting for every reader in my opinion. Firstly, I loved this book because there are actual photographs to show the life of Hippopotamus Owen, and how it met Tortoise Mzee. On the third page, there is a picture of Owen stranded alone on a reef, which helps the reader really comprehend the severity of his predicament; a baby hippo stranded all alone on a reef, with no way of escape. Also, each photograph has a caption to describe exactly what is happening in the picture. On the fifth page, there is a photograph of a lot of people on their way to help Owen the hippo out of the reef. The caption says, “the cheers could be heard almost a mile away.” Not only does this help the reader see the rescue, but it also helps them imagine what the rescue would sound like. This method is extremely engaging, and makes the story more interesting. I also thought the story was told in a narrative voice to help capture the reader’s interests. Even with the narrative tone, facts were still presented. For example, it says, “ Since hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa, and a full grown adult can weigh as much as 8,000 pounds, there was little the people could do.” In my opinion, because this book isn’t set up like a typical informational book it’s a lot more enjoyable for all readers, especially younger children. Overall, the message of this book is finding friendship in unexpected places. Normally in the wild Hippo’s and Tortoises aren’t compatible, but this story proves that sometimes you can find a friend anywhere, and differences shouldn’t prevent you from being friends with someone. ( )