Module 7 – Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by: Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu

PLOT: Owen a hippopotamus and Mzee (mm-ZAY) are united under tough circumstances.  The tsunami of 2004 that hit the Indian Ocean affected everyone, people and animals. Owen, a baby hippopotamus of about 2 feet high and about 600 lbs., lost his parents in the tsunami. He was later found the following day stranded in reef in the ocean.  People worked aimlessly to save the animal.  After many struggles they successfully managed to pull him out to safety.  Dr. Paula Kahumbu, manager of Haller Park offered to take him in offers him a permanent home.  The hippo could never return to living in the wild since he lost his parents and doesn’t know how to protect himself. They place him in an area with other animals including a turtle.  He is quickly drawn to the turtle.  After several days the turtle is also drawn to the baby hippo. Years have passed and they are still best friends to this day.  The book provides the following link to Hellar Park so you can see updated pictures of both Owen and Mzee. 

Link: http://www.lafarge.co.ke/wps/portal/ke/4_A_3-Haller_Park

Hatkoff, I., Hatkoff, C. & Kahumbu, P. (2006). Owen & Mzee. New York: Scholastic Inc.

IMPRESSION OF THE BOOK:  I really liked this heartwarming story.  I truly believe God works in mysterious ways and this is a great example of it.  It’s amazing how a hippopotamus can have a bonding friendship with a turtle.  It is sad that Owen loses his family due to natural devastation but the story didn’t end there. With the help of many generous people this little hippo gets a second chance and is united with a turtle of all things. I look at this story and realize that if a hippo, which is a mammal, and a turtle, who is a reptile, can become friends then why can’t people of different races do the same. This is a very inspirational story about people who care about other living creatures in the time of natural disaster.  Owen named after a volunteer who successfully held down the hippo long enough to save him, was scared and freighted after the tsunami that hit in 2004.  But to his surprise he would have a 130 year old turtle be his best friend. This was a great story about triumph and friendship.

REVIEWS:  Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Reviewed by: Deborah Stevenson

Many audiences are now familiar with the story of Owen, the hippopotamus orphaned by the 2004 tsunami and now dwelling in a Kenyan wildlife park, and his surprising friendship with the Aldabran tortoise Mzee. Though this labels itself a sequel to Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship (BCCB 5/06), it's more a revisitation with a slightly different focus. The text briefly recapitulates the story of Owen's sea rescue, travel to Haller Park, and meeting with Mzee, and [End Page 253] it then goes on to look in more detail at the relationship between the two, their behaviors, and the possible pitfalls of this friendship. This title pushes the boundaries of the story's implications a little harder than its predecessor (the optimistic morals seem particularly implausible in light of the multitudes who weren't spared in the tsunami), but it also offers intriguing and closely observed descriptions of the two animals' interactions, noting, for instance, that they've developed an oral communication that is neither tortoise nor hippo in its nature; the book is also straightforward and realistic about issues that the park keepers face, such as Owen's unhealthy tendency to eat a tortoise diet rather than a hippo diet and the risk that he might pose to the delicate-shelled Mzee as he continues to increase in size. This book is chock full of color photos, a few clearly constrained by circumstances but many of them striking and vivid portraits that convey the beauty of the location as well as the comradeship of the two animals. Browsers will find much to nibble on just in the images, while animal lovers in particular will find the enhanced details of this pair's friendship well worth perusal. A concluding section offers a bit more information on subjects ranging from Kenya to hippos to the tsunami.

Stevenson, D. (2007) [Review of the book Owen & Mzee: The true story of a remarkable friendship, by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, & Dr. Paula Kahumbu]. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Vol. 60 (pp. 253-254). doi: 10.1353/bcc.2007.0120

USE IN THE LIBRARY: This is a book that I would do as read aloud.  I would explain to the students that this is a nonfiction book.  I would also show pictures of a grown up hippo compared to a car and a baby hippo compared to a bicycle.  I would also show the comparison of a young turtle and a 130 year old turtle.  Soon after the story and facts I would then put the students on the computers and let them explore the Owen and Mzee website located at: http://www.owenandmzeefoundation.org/.  There are many songs and true live pictures and videos of the two animals in the sanctuary.