Owen & Mzee:  The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship

Book Review #1: 

 Owen & Mzee is a sweet tale of friendship written by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu.  The book was published by Scholastic in 2006.  The AR book level is 5.4 with a lexile level of 841.  The book is hard back, library bound, and contains a plethora of original photographs of the Kenyan countryside as well as Owen (a hippo) and Mzee (a giant tortoise).  The book is laid out in an easy to read fashion with one half to page large text opening to a photograph on every page. 

As stated, the text is large; however, the vocabulary could prove difficult for young readers.  The book would definitely appeal to animal lovers as well as those intrigued by Africa. It would also make a good read aloud for librarians or teachers when discussing the value of friendship and overcoming stereotypes.  The image shown below is a perfect example of the themes of the book regarding acceptance, friendship, and protection. 

 

Owen and Mzee would partner well with units on African as well. Using hand in hand with books such as Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, and Ashanti to Zulu would present a broad picture of the culture.  It would be valuable to examine the location of Kenya and study the animals of the country when studying the book.  The partner texts would also provide a lot of valuable information about culture, customs, and traditional beliefs of the people of Africa.  Using the website http://www.africanfauna.com/ would add a lot of addition information about plants and animals in Africa as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Owen and Mzee won the Book Sense of the Year Award as well as the ALAN award.  It continues to be a favorite of adults and children.