Read to Me: A Mama for Owen

I love children's books.  Well, I love just about any kind of book, but that's beside the point at the moment! *grin*  One of the things I've enjoyed most about being a mom (and a homeschooler, although I'm sure I'd be big on books with my kids even if I didn't homeschool) has been getting to share wonderful books with the boys.  Picture books, chapter books, new books, old books, books I loved as a child and want to share, books I missed somehow as a child . . .  we wallow in them.  Just check my library account!

Anyway, last year I was in charge of the newsletter for our MOPS (Mothers Of PreschoolerS) group, and I included a column of book recommendations.  I really enjoyed writing it, and I had several moms tell me that they appreciated and checked out the suggestions, so I thought I'd occasionally post some children's book reviews here as well.  So here goes!

A Mama for Owen

We're getting ready to study turtles for science this week, and I came across A Mama for Owen by Marion Dane Bauer, a heartwarming true story about the friendship between an orphaned hippopotamus baby and a giant tortoise.

Owen is a baby hippo who lost his mother in the 2004 tsunami.  He adopts Mzee, a 130-year old Aldabra tortoise as a surrogate mother, and Mzee "doesn't seem to mind one little bit."  Mamas might want to read with a kleenex handy--I got a little teary-eyed my first time through!  You might want to keep in mind that younger children or those who are sensitive might be upset at the idea of a baby losing its mother.

An unexpected benefit of doing a book review--I discovered while looking for the Amazon link that there are more books about Owen and Mzee and even a website, which I'm sure Connor and Brennan will love exploring!