599.88

599.8

599.88

The book entitled With Love - Ten Heartwarming Stories of Chimpanzees in the Wild by the renowned scientist and conservationist Jane Goodall is a nonfiction text that contains 39 wonderfully written and illustrated pages that kept me intrigued, made me smile, and overwhelmed me with emotion, causing me to shed a river of tears. This high quality publication is recommended for readers of all ages who are interested in the complexities, unique personalities, and life histories of 10 particular chimpanzees that this remarkable ethologist studied over the course of thirty years in Tanzania. It is also my opinion that even the youngest readers would appreciate the amazing stories this book has to offer by having a more experienced reader read the book to them.

In summary, Dr. Goodall recalls her observations with several chimpanzees she grew to know, understand, and love as individuals with unique personalities that are very similar to human beings. These stories demonstrate how these animals are capable of great compassion, altruism, and love, as well as aggression and brutality. The first story focuses on a large, male chimpanzee who she named David Greybeard. Although most chimpanzees are afraid of humans, this particular one showed courage to get close with her and later became her friend. The next story concentrates on a young chimp by the name of Mel who was orphaned when his mother died of pneumonia, but was miraculously adopted by an older male named Spindle who cared for him, thereby saving his life. The next small biography was about Freud who was only nine-years-old, too young to go a a pig hunt with the older males, and who was viciously attacked by a bushpig. Suddenly, bursting out from the undergrowth was a large female named Gigi who charged at the pig, allowing Freud to escape to safety. Another story reveals how an older sister, Pom rescues her younger, oblivious brother, Prof from being attacked by a large snake. After giving warning calls the he ignores, she jumps up into a tree above, grabbing her brother before the snake has a chance to strike. In another story, as Prof grows more mature, he delicately takes care of his younger brother Pax who suffered from a severe head cold. After sneezing out quite a bit of mucus, Prof gently gathers leaves and wipes his little brother's nose. The most upsetting story, in my opinion was when an older chimpanzee named Sprout came to the aid of her large, strong, magnificent son who unwisely decided to take over the top-ranking male's position in the group. When his plans backfired and he was attacked, he screamed violently and his elderly mother came to his rescue. She too was beaten and her son fled the scene, leaving her to fend for herself. The story that touched me most was the relationship between an elderly mother named Flo and her demanding son Flint who relentlessly aggravated her, demanding her constant attention until her death. After three weeks of mourning his loss, Flint died of a broken heart. Madam Bee and her daughter Little Bee also had a close relationship, but one that was more positive. Madam Bee's left arm was paralyzed due to polio, making it difficult to climb trees and retrieve fruit, but her daughter would gather fruit for her as her mother lay watching. Little Bee would bring the fruit to the ground and sit beside her mother as they ate together. Gremlin was a protective big sister to her younger, rebellious brother Gimble by saving him from a tick infestation while walking through the tall grasses of an open ridge. And finally, Aunt Gigi who saved that younger chimpanzee from the bushpig, was unable to bare offspring of her own, so she adopted three orphans, Mel, Dar Bee, and Dharsi who would have surely died without her care.

In terms of accuracy, the author's qualifications are unquestionable. Jane Goodall obtained her doctorate in ethology at Cambridge University, studied chimpanzees for almost forty years, has founded research centers, and written numerous books on her findings. The illustrator, Alan Marks studied graphic design at the Bath Academy of Art in England and much of his work has been displayed in London and Bologna, Italy. He has also illustrated other books for North-South Books.

The content of With Love - Ten Heartwarming Stories of Chimpanzees in the Wild focuses on specific events in the lives of only a handful of chimpanzees that Dr. Goodall has studied over the years, but allows the readers to imagine how these animals are similar to the human race. This small glimpse into their world helps people better understand that these creatures experience happiness, sadness, and adversity - making it evident that they have intelligence and feelings.

The style of writing is written in clear language that most readers will comprehend with an organization that follows a structure that is more of a story narrative in which Dr. Goodall is talking to the reader as a friend. The tone, therefore is one that follows more of a conversational type. No reference aids accompany this book, but there is additional information on the front and back covers, as well as an excerpt at the back of the book explaining more about Dr. Goodall's experience and dedication to protecting chimpanzees from cruel treatment by forming Root and Shoot groups throughout the world.

The illustrations are wonderfully done in a lifelike manner in which the reader has the opportunity to look into the often formidable world these chimpanzees experience, and sometimes into their eyes that reveal pain, concern, desire, and determination. The text's type is clearly visible and both the front and back covers make the potential reader smile and be amazed at how humans and chimpanzees can establish friendships.

As a future middle school English teacher, I would highly recommend this book because it is written not as a scientific text, but more as literature with the characters being chimpanzees instead of people. It is interesting, moving, and exciting, inviting the reader to fully delve into the these various chimpanzees' circumstances. The way I would utilized this book in my classroom would be to form 10 small groups and assign one story to each, instructing the students to read their designated story and then briefly present it to the rest of the class. ( )