Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship told by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu

Bonnie brings home the best books.

Owen & Mzee: The Languages of Friendship is the sequel to Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship. At the time of the writing of the second book, the young Kenyan hippopotamus, who had been orphaned by the December 24, 2004 tsunami on the Indian Ocean, had been living with the 130 year old tortoise for a year and a half. The two eat, swim, play, and sleep together and are rarely more than a few steps apart. This book, which tells how the two have created their own language of grunts and motions, includes many photos of them and shows their home in Haller Park in Malindi, Kenya.

I like the story of the writing of the books almost as much as the story in the books. Isabella Hatkoff was only six years old when she saw a photo of Owen and Mzee in a newspaper and asked her father to help her write a book.

You can get the latest news about the friends at the Haller Park website. There are weekly updates and lots of pictures.

Your library should have this book.

Hatkoff, Isabella. Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship. New York: Scholastic Press, 2007. ISBN 0439899591