Book Buds Kidlit Reviews

Who's Your Mama!

Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship
by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu; Illustrated by Peter Greste

Mama: A True Story in Which a Baby Hippo Loses his Mama During a Tsunami, but Finds a New Home, And a New Mama
By Jeanette Winter

Reviewed by Deb Clark

I was never so afraid of dying until I became a mother. I’m not scared for myself, but I am abjectly terrified of who will take care of my children if I’m not around.

My fears would abate—although I’d also be kind of bummed—if replacing a mother were as easy as in Owen & Mzee and Mama. Both books tell the compelling and true tale of a baby hippo who loses his mom in the wake of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. After washing ashore, Owen the hippo was taken to a Kenyan wildlife preserve where he formed an immediate and surprising attachment to Mzee, a cranky 130-year-old male giant tortoise. After his initial disinterest, Mzee embraced his role as surrogate hippo mama.

Owen & Mzee is the brainchild of 6-year-old Isabella Hatkoff, who read a newspaper account of the Owen’s story and convinced her father to help her write a book about it, which they did with the assistance of naturalist Dr. Paula Kahumbu. The book’s photos were provided by BBC photojournalist Peter Greste.

Mama chronicles the same events using only the words Mama and Baby. The glowing acrylic illustrations powerfully carry the tale, showing Owen’s peaceful life with his mother, their terror at the huge wave that separates them, and Owen’s rescue and pairing with Mzee. This simplistic approach is much more effective at conveying both the awesome power of the tsunami and Owen’s tragic sense of loss at the disappearance of his mother.

While the text is at times flat and some photos are weak, Owen & Mzee is an appealing book that conveys in clear, easily understood language a charming tale. Mama is the more powerful telling, but this intensity could make the book frightening and confusing for young children.

Ultimately, the real attraction of both these books is the remarkable story of how one baby hippo lost his mother and found another.

Rating: *\*\

Patching together African-American history

I remember being so struck by Jacqueline Woodson's Show Way, I fretted over whether to donate it to Hurricane Katrina victims. I decided to part with it, though it hurt to do so, but  hoped it would find a home with someone who needed it more.

I have two more books in front of me that feature African-American quilting, and, as in Show Way, where the quilts become symbols of freedom. While neither captures the break-all-the-molds uniqueness of Show Way, both are also based on real people and left me somehow feeling both uplifted and heartbroken at the same time.

Move over, Imelda

Happy Birthday, Jamela!
by Niki Daly

I was expecting a totally different book. Maybe it would be about planning a surprise party, fr'instance, or something safely and predictably birthday-ish. But nooo, Daly taps into the darkest sartorial fears embedded in a girl's psyche: shoes! Or, more precisely, how to make the best of footwear when they're just so wrong.

Jamela's Mama buys her a poofy birthday dress, but not the "princess shoes" to match. Can you imagine? I'd die. She gets school shoes instead. School shoes! Ohmigawd, what is the Xhosa word for DORK! Because that's what funky, free-spirited South African Jamela is clearly thinking when those hideous Mary Janes are strapped to her feet.

Now, I haven't met Jamela before, but she's got a series of books out about her bold little self. And lemme tell ya, what happens next is pretty darn defiant for an almost-seven-year-old, even if innocently intended. Let's just say she does things to those shoes that G-d never intended. Can you say "glue gun"? Thought so.

Happy ending? Of course. After Mama cools down and an artist friend takes up the cause.

An offbeat story and an earthy, African palette to the watercolors makes this a fun foray into the mind of a future Manohlo Blahnik apprentice.

You go, girl.

Rating: *\*\