Module 15, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, is a novel that was made into a major motion picture.

Summary

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story styled as a series of letters written to an anonymous (to the reader) friend.  The letters tell about the trials, triumphs, and tribulations of Charlie’s freshman year of high school.

It is revealed early on that Charlie is somewhat unstable by the mention of his many crying episodes.  The reader is tipped off that there is something deep and disturbing within Charlie as he navigates through the school year.  The story begins with Charlie explaining his friend’s suicide and his confusion and sadness over this tragedy.

Charlie begins as an awkward outsider who becomes friends with a group of seniors.  He meets Patrick in his shop class and then runs into him at a football game.  Patrick introduces him to his step sister, Sam, with whom Charlie immediately falls in love with.

Sam and Patrick introduce Charlie to their group of friends and from them he learns many lessons.  Charlie’s older sister and brother and a young teacher all give Charlie a perspective of life.  Charlie attends parties, celebrates with his family, reads books, learns to drive, hurts his friends and helps his friends, and has his first experiences with love.  He, his siblings, and his friends experience the emotional roller coaster that is the teen years.  Charlie reports on these events as a “wallflower” who is attempting to participate in life. 

In the end, the tragic reason for Charlie’s emotional frailty is revealed along with the lesson to be true to yourself.

Impression

This book was included on the list of often challenged or censored books.  The content of the book includes every issue parents of teens may be worried about…  Alcohol use, drug use, suicide, teen pregnancy, sexual encounters, homosexuality, sexual abuse, depression, and unsafe driving.  Some people feel that by reading about these adventures, teens may feel compelled to participate in them.  Of course, this is not true.  The author does not glorify or overly dramatize the issues.  The way in which the characters respond to the issues provides insight and possibly encouragement to others who have gone through difficult times.

Older teens will be able to relate to the realistic voice of Charlie.  His descriptions of the events of the year will make the reader feel as if they were there experiencing them with him.  His voice is serious and humorous at the same time so the reader is not overwhelmed with the heavy subjects the book portrays.

Library Uses

The letter style of this book is compelling and could be used with teenagers to encourage them to express their feelings in a similar way.  While it is unclear to whom Charlie is actually writing the letter, it is clear that the letter writing is therapeutic for him.  Portions of the book could be read in a small group setting and teens could then write some of their own letters.

Professional Reviews

Aspiring filmmaker/first-novelist Chbosky adds an upbeat ending to a tale of teenaged angst—the right combination of realism and uplift to allow it on high school reading lists, though some might object to the sexuality, drinking, and dope-smoking. More sophisticated readers might object to the rip-off of Salinger, though Chbosky pays homage by having his protagonist read Catcher in the Rye. Like Holden, Charlie oozes sincerity, rails against celebrity phoniness, and feels an extraliterary bond with his favorite writers (Harper Lee, Fitzgerald, Kerouac, Ayn Rand, etc.). But Charlie’s no rich kid: the third child in a middle-class family, he attends public school in western Pennsylvania, has an older brother who plays football at Penn State, and an older sister who worries about boys a lot. An epistolary novel addressed to an anonymous “friend,” Charlie’s letters cover his first year in high school, a time haunted by the recent suicide of his best friend. Always quick to shed tears, Charlie also feels guilty about the death of his Aunt Helen, a troubled woman who lived with Charlie’s family at the time of her fatal car wreck. Though he begins as a friendless observer, Charlie is soon pals with seniors Patrick and Sam (for Samantha), stepsiblings who include Charlie in their circle, where he smokes pot for the first time, drops acid, and falls madly in love with the inaccessible Sam. His first relationship ends miserably because Charlie remains compulsively honest, though he proves a loyal friend (to Patrick when he’s gay-bashed) and brother (when his sister needs an abortion). Depressed when all his friends prepare for college, Charlie has a catatonic breakdown, which resolves itself neatly and reveals a long-repressed truth about Aunt Helen. A plain-written narrative suggesting that passivity, and thinking too much, lead to confusion and anxiety. Perhaps the folks at (co-publisher) MTV see the synergy here with Daria or any number of videos by the sensitive singer-songwriters they feature.

--Kirkus, 1999

A trite coming-of-age novel that could easily appeal to a YA readership, filmmaker Chbosky's debut broadcasts its intentions with the publisher's announcement that ads will run on MTV. Charlie, the wallflower of the title, goes through a veritable bath of bathos in his 10th grade year, 1991. The novel is formatted as a series of letters to an unnamed ""friend,"" the first of which reveals the suicide of Charlie's pal Michael. Charlie's response--valid enough--is to cry. The crying soon gets out of hand, though--in subsequent letters, his father, his aunt, his sister and his sister's boyfriend all become lachrymose. Charlie has the usual dire adolescent problems--sex, drugs, the thuggish football team--and they perplex him in the usual teen TV ways. He hangs out with a group of seniors, among whom are Patrick and Samantha. Patrick is gay, and Charlie learns about gay. Sam is pretty, and Charlie learns about heartbreak. Sam is, alas, going out with Craig. Charlie goes out with the uppity Mary Elizabeth. Patrick goes with Brad but breaks up with him when Brad's father discovers their relationship. Into these standard teenage issues Chbosky infuses a droning insistence on Charlie's supersensitive disposition. Charlie's English teacher and others have a disconcerting tendency to rhapsodize over Charlie's giftedness, which seems to consist of Charlie's unquestioning assimilation of the teacher's taste in books. In the end we learn the root of Charlie's psychological problems, and we confront, with him, the coming rigors of 11th grade, ever hopeful that he'll find a suitable girlfriend and increase his vocabulary. (Feb.)

--Publishers Weekly, 1999

References

Chbosky, S. (1999). The perks of being a wallflower. New York: Pocket Books.

Fiction Book Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Author MTV Books $14 (256p) ISBN 978-0-671-02734-6. (1999, February 1). Retrieved May 6, 2015, from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-671-02734-6

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky | Kirkus. (1999, January 15). Retrieved May 6, 2015, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/stephen-chbosky/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower/

Module 14, The Kissing Game, Short Stories, by Aidan Chambers

 The Kissing Game, Short Stories, by Aidan Chambers is a collection of Short Stories and Flash Fiction written for Young Adults.

Summary

The Kissing Game is a collection of sixteen short stories.  The subject, genre, and length vary from story to story.  Some longer stories have a traditional novel style, just shorter.  Some are character dialogues.  The inside jacket cover of the book explains that in this collection, the author “examines moments of truth in which a conversation or an event suddenly reveals a surprising, sometimes life-altering meaning.” (jacket).

The Tower, is a fantasy ghost-story.  In this story, a father and son argue over whether or not a tower exists on a piece of land both have hiked separately.  Both are convinced they are correct and the discussion takes an ugly turn.  The father is convinced the son is “stupid and stubborn” (p. 81), while the son is convinced the father is untrusting and unreasonable.  Martin, the son, on his mother’s suggestion, hikes off again to verify the placement of the tower so they can prove it to the father later on.  The father returns from his hike, telling his wife that he discovered from a native that there had once been a tower there and it had burned down, as an event in a tragic love story.  Mrs. Phelps, acting on mother’s intuition, insists they go and find their son.  What they discover is unimaginable.

The Weather Forecast, is a short, three page dialogue.  The two characters encounter each other on a bus and have a discussion about the weather.  They each decide, it doesn’t much matter what the weather forecast says, they will “take what comes” (p.195), and yet they can’t stop talking about the 

forecast.

The author includes the final story, “A Handful of Wheat”, because the targeted audience of this book is 14-17 years old, and he finished this story when he was 17 years old.  This story is a memoir about going to his grandparent’s house with his mother after his grandfather had died.

The book concludes with an author’s note on “Flash Fiction”.  He explains the characteristics of what he calls, “cutting edge literature” (p.216) and relates why he is interested in pursuing this form of storytelling.  He explains that this new form of literature is popular because it is easier to read and write on the small screens of smart phones and eReaders.

Impression

I chose this book because of the description in the jacket that says the author “examines moments of truth in which a conversation or an event suddenly reveals a surprising, sometimes life-altering meaning” (Jacket).   This made me think that the book would kind of be a feel-good, self-help book, kind of like “Chicken Soup for the Soul”.  But I was wrong.

This collection does include a few stories in which the characters and/or plot are developed enough to create a “life-altering” meaning.  A couple stories leave you at the end saying, “whoa, didn’t expect that”.  And finally some stories leave you hoping as you read them that there will be something life altering at the end, because the story itself is tedious. 

Some stories in the collection left you wanting more, wishing you knew what happened next to the character.  A couple stories were sufficient in length and story development.  A few seemed like useless rambling.  And some, despite the short length, were just too long, and you were happy when they ended.

The author is British and so the text is English.  It is not quite the English that American teenagers are used to reading.  Many American teenagers may read the first story and discard the book because the language is unfamiliar.  However, I can definitely think of some artsy, culturally aware American teenagers who would revel in the prose and flash fiction genre.  A savvy librarian can get this unique book in the right hands.

Library Uses

I had many differing opinions on all of the stories.  But, the positive virtue here is that almost every story did invoke an opinion.  In a time where educators are called to stimulate critical thinking, a book like this can be an exercise in this area.  However, librarians and teachers do need to read the book before using it in a classroom as a few stories do depict sexual encounters and may be inappropriate in some settings.

In our SLIS 5420 discussions about short stories, one of the students had suggested using short story readings in an open mic night format.  I think this book would have several selections which would work well in an event like this in a high school or public library.

Professional Reviews

British author and Printz Award winner Chambers (Postcards from No Man’s Land, 2002) returns with a provocative and varied collection of shorts for teen readers. The author isn’t one to shy away from the more sinister aspects of life, nor is he heavy-handed in his treatment of them. Touching on a wide scope of topics, his spare, succinct prose prods readers out of complacency and gets them thinking critically on a varied number of issues: death, sex and violence, among them. Whether asking readers to ponder the meaning of life and religion in the almost Beckettlike “The God Debate,” re-evaluate their own attitudes toward the planet and our increasingly use-once-and-dispose attitude in “Thrown Out” or consider the harsh realities of human trafficking that permeates all walks of life with “Sanctuary,” he introduces readers into the chaotic and often ugly world of adulthood. His sophisticated yet simple style is perfectly suited for an exploration of the new form of flash fictions—multi-genre drabbles that top out at 1,000 words—as well as standard short-story form. Thoughtful, challenging reading for teens on the cusp of adulthood. (Short stories. 15 & up)

--Kirkus, 2011

In 16 short stories—three previously published, one written when the author was a teenager—Chambers (the Dance Sequence) takes an almost microscopically close view of teenagers' thoughts and interactions, with characters grappling with issues of faith, authority, relationships, and identity. Several stories are extremely short—in an afterword, Chambers places them in the "flash fiction" genre. "They are like a flash of light, a spark, which allows one quick view of a whole scene or person or event," he writes, noting they "are suited to writing and reading on the small screens of computers, iPhones, and eReaders." The briefest stories consist solely of dialogue, yet those written in prose can also have the feel of a script. Chambers often employs 11th-hour twists: the titular story veers into horror, "The Tower" into the paranormal. Vladimir Nabokov's description of the Russian word "toskà," included in a story of the same name, perhaps best captures the spirit of the collection, which is permeated with "a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning." Chambers leaves readers with much to contemplate. Ages 14–up. (Mar.)

--Publishers Weekly, 2011

References

Chambers, A. (2011). The kissing game: Short stories. New York: Amulet Books.

Children's Book Review: The Kissing Game: Short Stories by Aidan Chambers, Abrams/Amulet. (2011, January 24). Retrieved May 5, 2015, from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8109-9716-5

THE KISSING GAME by Aidan Chambers | Kirkus. (2011, February 15). Retrieved May 5, 2015, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/aidan-chambers/kissing-game/

Module 13, Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child by Jessie Hartland

Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child, by Jessie Hartland is a biographical graphic picture book.

Summary

This biography of Julia Child, done in a comics style graphic picture book, chronicles the life of Child from her childhood to her death in 2004.  Particular emphasis is given in the book to her writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Julia Child was born in 1912 to a wealthy family in Pasadena, California.  The book gives many fun facts about her childhood, including that her favorite after school snack was a jelly doughnut.  The college she attended is mentioned with a couple facts, and then the author tells us of the many jobs she had after college, not quite finding her niche.  She meets her husband, Paul Child while working for a government agency called, The Office of Strategic Services.  They have many things in common, including their love of adventuresome dining.  Eventually they marry.

Julia begins her life in France when Paul is transferred there with his job.  Julia again fumbles around, looking for an interesting position, but ends up at the famed Cordon Bleu Cooking School.  She excels there and makes a friend, Simone Beck, with whom she eventually writes her first cookbook.

There is quite a bit of detail included in the book about the 10 years that went into writing the cookbook.  Hartland takes great lengths to discuss the time the two spent on the book, the moves Julia made which influenced her cooking and exasperated the difficulties of writing the book, and the number of rejections from publishers the two received. 

After the cookbook was published, Julia Child hosted a popular cooking show in which she featured recipes from her cookbook.  She eventually moved back to France and wrote several other successful books.  Julia Child died in 2004 at the age of 91.  Bon Appetit! Includes two recipes, a reference note about where to learn more information about Julia Child, and a Bibliography.

Impression

“The writing is clear and precise, the design uncluttered and easy to read,” (p. 33) Hartland says of Julia Child’s book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Unfortunately the same cannot be said for 

Hartland’s book about Julia Child. 

While the illustrations done in comic book style art are whimsical and entertaining, the text that accompanies the artwork is difficult to decipher and follow.  The text is crammed between the artwork, in typical graphic comic style, but there are no clear text boxes to help define the space.  On some pages, it is very difficult to determine where to read next.  And since this is a book about her life, the order is important.  Some of the pages had what could be described as text boxes, but the background color of the boxes was so dark, it made it difficult to read the hand printing font style.  One two page spread was devoted to 37 text boxes with small writing and pictures of a galantine recipe.  Perhaps it was not really meant to be read, since it was difficult to follow.

There are several phrases in French.  Although this adds to the authenticity, if you did not figure out until halfway through the book that the French was translated, like I did, you might miss some things.  There are words everywhere on the page, sometimes you get lost.

HOWEVER, despite my criticisms, this book is definitely worth the work that it takes to read it!  The book is presented in a fun, lighthearted tone, which is reminiscent of Julia Child herself.  There is so much information given; important information about the making of the cookbook, and little interesting fun facts.  It is a great way to present a biography because the pictures complement and add to the text.  For instance, there is an illustration that shows the back of Julia’s head and the camera and crew holding up “idiot cards”.  They say things like, “There’s a pot holder on fire!” and “you have spinach in your teeth!”  I am guessing this really happened!

The author does not shy away from some of Julia Child’s shortcomings, yet it is clear that she admires the famous chef.  This book inspires you to look up some old footage of Julia Child from her cooking shows.  You can’t help but want to see her in action.

Library Uses

Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child has many library uses.  First, because it is a biography of a woman, who is not a nurse, athlete, or singer, it gives girls a positive iconic hero, in a field that rarely gets this kind of notoriety in books.  Due to the small cramped text, I don’t think it would work well in a read aloud.  However, it would work nicely as a small group read.  One activity might be to have groups of students read biographies and then create a project together representing the book.  This book would lend itself to having students bring in their favorite recipes to share or to create a group cookbook. 

Also, students could read the book and then watch youtube videos of Julia Child.  They could then record their own cooking show in Julia Child style.

The book is inspirational in that Julia and her partner are rejected many times in their quest to have their cookbook published.  It shows that if you don’t give up, your dreams can come true.  Librarians may be able to suggest this book to some students who may need this message.

Professional Reviews

A homey biography introduces children to Julia Child.

Julia Child’s imposing but unglamorous figure and rumbly voiced television presence charmed cooks and eaters alike, even as her cookbooks changed kitchen dynamics in many American households. Hartland uses a naive cartoon storytelling style—several scenes on a page, accompanied by an energetic handwritten, partly cursive text—to recount her journey to success as a renowned cook. Lively tableaux deliver an affectionate tribute to this strong-minded woman. Scenes from Julia’s tomboy childhood include mention of Julia’s large feet and the three foods her mother would make on cook’s night off: biscuits, codfish balls and Welsh rabbit. The book moves onto her brief career with the OSS, her marriage to Paul Child (and their mutual interest in food) and their move to Paris. From Julia’s education at Le Cordon Bleu and her subsequent success in producing cookbooks, it’s clear that Julia succeeded through her attention to detail and her luck in matching passion for food with her ability to cook it expertly. The 37 steps in Julia’s preparation of a galantine for her sister “Dort the Wort” are amusingly detailed, and though readers are not told whether Dorothy was impressed, the anecdote is telling.

While these stories may be familiar to adult readers, they are here perfectly pitched to introduce the determined woman who became synonymous with French cooking in America. (bibliography)  (Picture book/biography. 7-11)

--Kirkus, 2012

Chef and TV personality Julia Child likely would have delighted in and hooted over this wide-ranging picture-book biography. Hartland’s (How the Dinosaur Got to the Museum) trademark naïve-styled cartoons fill each panel and page with activity, their liveliness nodding to Child’s own energy. A color palette limited to sage and sea greens, gray-blues, reds, and browns keeps the myriad vignettes from overwhelming. Humorous touches—such as her singed eyebrows while making crêpes suzette—set an effervescent tone. One doesn’t expect biographies of this length to be exhaustive, but Hartland’s is remarkably so, covering Child’s early years in Pasadena, her stint with a spy agency in WWII, her world travels, and cooking adventures. The narrative is done in handwritten typeface, an informal combination of cursive and printing that winds around the illustrations and down the pages and includes numerous French phrases with translations. One spread even outlines step-by-step directions (in 37 numbered panels) for making chicken galantine. Readers young and old will devour this fête pour les yeux, which concludes with a short epilogue, bibliography, and, of course, a crêpe recipe. All ages. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (May)

--Publishers Weekly, 2012

References

BON APPETIT by Jessie Hartland , Jessie Hartland | Kirkus. (2012, April 1). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jessie-hartland/bon-appetit-delicious-life-julia-child/

Children's Book Review: Bon Appetit!: The Delicious Life of Julia Child by Jessie Hartland. Random/Schwartz & Wade. (2012, March 19). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-375-86944-0

Hartland, J. (2012). Bon appetit!: The delicious life of Julia Child. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.

Module 12, Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwall by Tanya Lee Stone

Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors, The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell by Tanya Lee Stone is a biographical picture book.

Summary

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first American woman to attend medical school and become a doctor.  This picture book chronicles her life from a young girl through her graduation from medical school from Geneva Medical School in upstate New York.  Although the author ends the story with her graduation, she provides an “Author’s Note” section which details her life after medical school until her death at age 89.

Elizabeth Blackwell was born in 1820, a time when there were no female doctors.  She was a curious and smart girl who got to benefit from a good education.  She did not consider becoming a doctor until a sick friend mentioned how she would much rather be examined by a woman.  The friend 

further had the audacity to announce that Elizabeth should become a doctor.

Elizabeth at first, thought the idea was preposterous, but eventually had to admit its intrigue.  The author describes the perseverance it took for Elizabeth to get into and finally graduate from medical school.

Impression

Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors is not just and inspirational story for girls, but for all readers.  It encourages us to think beyond our box and dream about what we thought was not possible.  If further reiterates that perseverance and hard work will pay off.

The book is written in easy language with short sentences so even the youngest elementary students can learn from it.  However, the subject of breaking stereotypes may also appeal to some older readers.  The book introduces us to a person in history we may not be completely familiar with.  Elizabeth Blackwell is a true American hero that many will admire.

The bright whimsical illustrations are quite endearing.  They add depth and emotion to the story.  They make what could have seemed to be a “boring biography” an appealing must read.

Library Uses

Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors would be great for a display and read aloud for Women’s History Month.  Elizabeth Blackwell is a little known pioneer, who should be studied.  A school librarian could read this to 3^rd grade students who may be doing biography reports.  It is a good example of how a picture book can include important facts.

Professional Reviews

“Women cannot be doctors. They should not be doctors.” Elizabeth Blackwell received 28 rejections from medical schools before one accepted her.

Stone takes a lively and conversational approach to the life of the first female doctor in the United States. A tiny but adventurous girl, Elizabeth Blackwell once carried her brother over her head until he stopped fighting with her, and she got the idea to go to medical school from a sick friend who confided that she would much rather be examined by a woman. When Geneva Medical School in New York state accepted her, she didn’t know that the (male) student body had voted on her acceptance as a joke, but she graduated with the top grades in her class. Priceman’s swirly and vivid gouache-and–India ink artwork is an excellent foil for the text, which directly addresses young readers’ own experience while reminding them that in the 1840s, things were different, and that one very determined girl had changed that. The author’s note describes the difficulties Dr. Blackwell experienced setting up her practice and her career treating the poor women and children of New York City. It also notes that today, more than half of all students in U.S. medical schools are women.

A bracing, vivacious account of a pioneering woman. (Picture book/biography. 5-9)

--Kirkus, 2012

“You might find this hard to believe, but there once was a time when girls weren’t allowed to become doctors,” opens this smart and lively biography of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in America. Stone develops Blackwell’s personality through childhood anecdotes—as a child Blackwell once slept on a hard floor just “to toughen herself up”—before detailing her career path. Priceman’s typically graceful lines and bright gouache paintings make no bones about who’s on the wrong side of history: those who object to Blackwell’s achievements are portrayed as hawkish ladies and comically perturbed twerps in tailcoats. Ages 5–up. Author’s agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Feb.)

--Publishers Weekly, 2013

References

Children's Book Review: Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell by Tanya Lee Stone, illus. by Marjorie Priceman. Holt/Ottaviano, (2014, February 4). Retrieved May 2, 2015, from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8050-9048-2

Stone, T., & Priceman, M. (2013). Who says women can't be doctors?: The story of Elizabeth Blackwell. New York: Christy Ottaviano Books/Henry Holt and.

WHO SAYS WOMEN CAN'T BE DOCTORS? by Tanya Lee Stone , Marjorie Priceman | Kirkus. (2012, December 15). Retrieved May 2, 2015, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tanya-lee-stone/who-says-women-cant-be-doctors/

Module 11, Owen and Mzee

 Owen & Mzee by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu is an informational picture book.

Summary

This story is the true account of how baby hippopotamus, Owen and 130-year-old giant tortoise Mzee formed an unimaginable bond.  The book was written by 6-year-old Isabella Hatkoff and her father, along with the help of the ecologist involved in Owen’s care, after Isabella had seen a photograph of the two.

Owen became lost from his hippopotamus pod after the 2004 tsunami washed him to a coral reef off the coast of Kenya.   After much struggle, local villagers and visitors were able to capture Owen and tow him to shore in Malindi, Kenya.  One rescuer, who went to great lengths to save the hippo, putting himself in danger, was Owen Sobien.  Owen the hippo was named after Owen the rescuer. 

When Owen was taken to the Haller Park animal sanctuary, he was deeply traumatized from his ordeal.  He immediately headed to the first creature the same color as his lost hippo pod, a cranky tortoise named Mzee.  Although at first, Mzee was not thrilled about Owen’s choice, he finally formed a connection with the hippo.  Mzee became a surrogate to the young hippo and their friendship endures today.

The book contains a section at the end to get more details about the two creatures and where they come from.  The large detailed photographs were taken by internationally recognized photo-journalist, Peter Greste.

Impression

This story offers not only information, but also inspiration.  Many facts are given about Kenya, the hippopotamus, the tortoise, and the event.  Also information about the 2004 tsunami is included.  However, this is also a beautiful story about an unlikely friendship.  Students of all ages will be able to connect with the relationship between two creatures who are very different. 

The story will spark conversations about friendship, loyalty, and how we can help someone who is struggling. 

Library Uses

Owen and Mzee could be used at the beginning of the year in a school library.  It could be used to talk about the power of friendship and how we can find friendship in unlikely places.  One quote from the book, “Our most important friends are sometimes those we least expected.” (p. 23) exemplifies opening your mind to new friendship opportunities.

This book could also be used with other books, such as “Boxes for Katje” in a discussion about how we can help each other after a natural disaster or war.  There are many books about natural disasters, but not as many about what we can do in the aftermath of a natural disaster or war.  I think students could then pick someway as a group that they would like to assist others and then design a project around that.

Professional Reviews

In 2005, this father-daughter team, with the ecologist and the photographer, chronicled the irresistible story of the baby hippopotamus, orphaned by the December 2004 tsunami, which imprinted on the more-than-a-century-old Aldabra tortoise in a nature preserve in Kenya. Owen and Mzee’s story continues, with unexpected communication and devotion between the animals and the unexpected difficulties (Owen acts much more like a tortoise than a hippo). The photographs continue to be quite wonderful, and it is hard not to agree with the astonishment in the text: These animals communicate, play, eat and live together, though they are utterly dissimilar in every way. Their story is recapitulated in this volume, so even if they don’t own the first, eager young readers can catch right up and be mesmerized, mystified and charmed. (natural history, maps, notes) (Picture book. 5-10)

--Kirkus, 2006

Remarkable" seems too tame a word for this memorable book about a friendship between two wild creatures. Its genesis lay in Greste's photo of a baby hippo snuggling with a giant tortoise, which appeared in newspapers the month after the cataclysmic 2004 tsunami. Craig Hatkoff and his then six-year-old daughter, moved by that image and by the accompanying article, decided to learn more about these animal companions—and to write their story. They do so succinctly and smoothly, ably aided by Kahumbu, manager of the Kenyan animal sanctuary, Haller Park, where the two creatures now live. Greste's crisp, closely focused photos will instantly endear the title characters to readers. When the tsunami struck Kenya, Owen was separated from his mother and the rest of their pod and became stranded on a coral reef. Several spreads chronicle the hippo's difficult rescue and transport to the sanctuary. Once set loose, he immediately scrambled toward Mzee (the Swahili term for "wise old man"), a 130-year-old Aldabra tortoise: "Owen crouched behind Mzee, the way baby hippos often hide behind their mothers for protection." The unadorned text allows the facts themselves to move readers, making clear how the improbable bond between the now inseparable mammal and reptile has helped resilient Owen recover from his traumatic ordeal. ("Most [wildlife experts] have never heard of a mammal... and a reptile... forming such a strong bond.") Priceless images document the pair swimming together or nuzzling, their rough skins complementing each other. In several of Greste's photos, the two creatures appear to have genuine smiles on their faces. Readers will have the same. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)

--Publishers Weekly, 2006

References

Children's Book Review: Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella Hatkoff, Author, Craig M. Hatkoff, Author, Paula Kahumbu, Author , photos by Peter Greste. Scholastic $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-439-82973-1. (2013, February 2). Retrieved April 29, 2015, from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-439-82973-1

Hatkoff, I., & Hatkoff, C. (2007). Owen & Mzee: The language of friendship. New York: Scholastic Press.

OWEN & MZEE by Isabella Hatkoff , Craig Hatkoff , Paula Kahumbu , Peter Greste | Kirkus. (2006, December 15). Retrieved April 29, 2015, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/isabella-hatkoff/owen-mzee/