Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Owen And Mzee



During our Africa Unit Study, my kids had so much fun learning about two unlikely friends, Owen and Mzee. I happened upon the books Owen & Mzee: The True Story of A Remarkable Friendship and Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship at our local library. The first tells the true tale of Owen, an adorable baby hippo who is lost from his mother and group after the devastating tsunami of 2006 and the unusual friendship he finds in a 130 year old tortoise named Mzee. The books were great and widely available at local libraries. Better still was the information we found at http://www.owenandmzee.com/omweb/ There is an entire section just for kids that includes sing-alongs, interactive educational games, fun print-outs and more! They are so adorable that I'm tempted to pack a bag for Kenya myself just to get a firsthand look at this oddly-cute couple. If you need a great activity about animals, friendship, or just want something fun to do for a couple of days, I highly recommend a two-day unit on Owen and Mzee.