Book Blog #3: Owen & Mzee

Title: Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship

Author: Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu

Publisher: Scholastic (2006)

Age: Preschool - 5th Grade (according to Scholastic's website)

Lexile Reading Level: 920L

Awards:  ALA Notable Children's Book, NYT Bestseller, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Book Award 

Review

The story of the friendship between a baby hippo named Owen and a 130 year old tortoise named Mzee is remarkable. Owen loses her family in the 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of Asia and Africa. She was taken to Haller Park, an animal sanctuary in Kenya, where she struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. Then she is befriended by the infamously unfriendly Mzee and an unlikely partnership forms. The story is wonderful, heartwarming, and uplifting. Unfortunately, the book is not. It's stilted with far too many unnecessary details thrown in for no apparent reason. Subsequently the book does not flow. It reads like a manual, bogged down in minutiae, and it screams for an editor. 

The book's authors are a father and daughter (the daughter gets a writing credit but she was only five when the book was written) named Craig and Isabella Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu, who was the manager of Haller Park. It is the first book for all three. (Interesting side note, Craig Hatkoff is a real estate bigwig and philanthropist who co-created the Tribeca Film Festival). The art in the book are all photographs by Peter Greste, a photojournalist and broadcaster for the BBC. You take the good and the bad with the pictures. The good: They're real and they help make the story real. You see what Owen looked like and what Mzee looked like. You see Owen trapped in the Indian Ocean after the tsunami. You see Owen and Mzee's interaction. It's very powerful. But, at the same time - not all of the photos are great. Some are grainy and not particularly good shots. 

I am a crier. This book should have had me weeping. It's a wonderful story and yet my eyes were completely dry from start to finish. I also don't think it would work as part of a storytime - especially with younger kids. The book - and it pains me to write this - is a slog to read. It could work for older ages as an assigned book, something the children could read on their own and do reports on, but I would avoid reading it out loud.

Recommended Pairings

1. Tarra & Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends - Carol Buckley

2. Kate & Pippin: An Unlikely Love Story - Martin Springett

3. Sniffer & Tinni: A True Tale of Amazing Animal Friendship - Berit Helberg

A librarian or teacher has a few different avenues they could go with when looking at pairings. They could focus on the animals involved: the hippopotamus and tortoise. They could look at Kenya. Or they could do fun animal friendships. I've gone with that route but I think that Owen & Mzee lends itself to any of the three options. Tarra & Bella is a wonderful story about a retired circus elephant and a dog. (I mentioned earlier that I'm a crier, right? Well this book had me sobbing! In a good way!) Kate & Pippin is about a deer and a dog while Sniffer & Tinni are about a fox and a dog. Both feel aimed at a younger audience than Owen & Mzee and would work well in a storytime or as a read-aloud.

Suggested Activities

As mentioned above, Owen & Mzee is a great leaping off point for so many different paths. I think a classroom study of Kenya would be really fun. Scholastic (the book's publisher) actually has a website about the book that features activities and suggestions. You can visit it here. (That site also has more information and multiple videos about Owen & Mzee.) There are numerous Kenyan folktales and legends that would be great for readalouds, too. A study of hippos are tortoises would also be a fun possibility.