[Pet Health Admin]

The inspiring true story of two great friends, a baby hippo named Owen and a 130-yr-old giant tortoise named Mzee (Mm-ZAY). When Owen was stranded after the Dec 2004 tsunami, villagers in Kenya worked tirelessly to rescue him. Then, to everyone's amazement, the orphan hippo and the elderly tortoise adopted each other. Now they are inseparable, swimming, eating, and playing together. Adorable photos e-mailed from friend to friend quickly made them worldwide celebrities. Here is a joyous reminder that in times of trouble, friendship is stronger than the differences that too often pull us apart.
Customer Review: An inspiration for science and social studies in the classroom!
While previewing the book prior to reading it to my first grade class, I was a little skeptical that my students would appreciate it, since English is the second language for all of them. My concerns were unfounded. While some of the more complex vocabulary words required explanation, students were captivated by the pictures and story. Each page offers the opportunity for discussion and learning. They were disappointed when time ran out and we were unable to finish the book in one reading. This book is a great springboard for a social studies unit on social action or geography and a science unit on hippos or tortises.
Customer Review: Wonderful story; mediocre book
The beautiful story of tortoise and hippo is, honestly, rather botched here by inconsistent and infrequent photos, and poor writing. The writing meanders back and forth over the fine line of engaging and educational necessary for elementray school level books. The writing is rather poor, the story focuses on inconsequential details, and an opportunity to discuss captivating aspects of the tortoise/hippo relationship are misssed. We should probably fault the editing, because it seems that a decent, if a bit schmaltzy and dreamy, tale was forced, ham-fisted, into educational prose. It's almost painful to read. The story itself is great, and the book is worth having to engage children in a discussion of the pictures. But the photos, too, are not great. The quality is inconsistent, there are too few pictures, and several are repetitive. Get the book, tell your child your own version of the story, and celebrate the friendship of these creatures, which humans have maligned with this mediocre book.


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