Best Friends: The True Story of Owen and Mzee

All Aboard Science Reader: Station Stop 1

by Roberta Edwards, Carol Schwartz (Illustrations)

After the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, a little hippo named Owen was discovered orphaned and alone, far from home. Come read the true and heartwarming story of the animal sanctuary that provided a new home for Owen, where he found an unlikely best friend in a 130- year-old tortoise named Mzee.

Genres: Childrens, Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Friendship

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Roberta Edwards lives in New York, New York.

Reviews

[nour ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i stumbled upon this and it was cute for a children’s book

[Karina Espinales · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a good 2nd grade book. The students will probably be interested in the book because of the title. It is a great book to introduce the topic about the difference between mammals and reptiles. It is non-fiction.

[Kaleidoscope Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable story for beginning readers. The illustrations are cute, but the name of Mzee (meaning respected elder in Swahili) is given an incorrect pronunciation guide. In the book it says “ma-zee”. Both syllables are incorrect. The M is barely an /m/ sound and the second syllable is ‘zay’.

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable!

[Shannon Bradbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a true story about an orphaned hippo and an unlikely friendship with a tortoise. A great story to teach kids about friendship.

[Jaime T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fin likes

[June Davis]

Good true story for kids!

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet book about an orphaned hippo. I love the pictures!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet story, made me tear up and the kids really liked it.