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Owen & Mzee
(2006, Non-Fiction - Animals, Written by Isabelle and Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu, Illustrated by Peter Greste)
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Is it age appropriate?
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Not age appropriate for kids under 0, age appropriate for kids over 4; suggested age 4. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Heartwarming story of an unlikely friendship.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 4 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence & scariness:
What Parents Need to Know
About Owen & Mzee
Parents need to know that a baby hippo is separated from his mother because of the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami. The hippo, Owen, must be restrained for transport to a new animal sanctuary and is shown under a net in one picture. In the appendix, the authors discuss the 175,000 people who died because of the tsunami.
Read our full review by Kate Pavao
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about the unlikely friendship between the hippo and the tortoise. What do you think made them friends? Why was their story so important to people after the devastating tsunami? What can we learn from them? A complete discussion guide can be downloaded from Scholastic. Kids may be excited to learn that co-author Isabella Hatkoff was just 7 when she wrote this book with her father. Parents could encourage kids to write their own stories from their lives or from what they hear around them.
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