Owen and Mzee

Title: Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship
Author: Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumba
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Reading Level: 1 and up
Pages: 40
Genre: Non-fiction





Summary:

A hippopotamus is one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. A full grown adult can be up to 8,000 pounds, and that's not anything somebody wants to mess with. This is what the peole in Malindi decided one day when a pod of hippos moved into their village. There was nothing they could do. Then one day a tsunami wave came and all the hippos disappeared. Except for one; a little (well, for a hippo, 600 pounds) baby was stranded in the water. The village set to work to free him before he died. Even though he was small for a hippo he was still strong. The people had to get a shark net that wouldn't break. A man named Owen tackled the hippo, and thus his name became Owen. Own was angry at the people and he tried to charge them, but thye secured ropes around him and called Haller Park to see if they would take him. There were up for the task and they came to pick up Owen. Again he tried to charge them, but they finally got him to the park. The lot they had picked out for him was perfect for a hippo, but there was am Aldabra tortoise, Mzee, who lived there too. Mzee wasn't a very nice tortise, but the people figured the two animals would leave eachother alone. This was not the case however. As soon as Owen was released he ran behind Mzee's big shell. Mzee was annoyed and kept trying to crawl away while hissing at Owen. However, the hippo wasn't deterred. He followed Mzee around all day, until the old tortise finally accepted his fate. It wasn't long until the two became inseperable. Owen looked to Mzee like a 'mother' figure and learned how to fend for himself and eat. When Owen was old enough he was moved in with more hippos... along with Mzee. The two odd ducks are still inseperable friends to this day.

My Reaction:

This book is adorable! Who would have thought that a hippo and a tortise would be best friends? I think it's a cute story of how the impossible can happen.

Potential Problems:

Little kids might be upset about Owen's family disappearing, but other than that it's a great book!

Recommendations:

I would recommend this book to everyone! It's an adorable story, and I think kids would love to hear about it!