Jennifer Mattson (Booklist, May 15, 2006 (Vol. 102, No. 18))
Originally published as an e-book, this photo-essay was conceived when Craig Hatkoff and his seven-year-old daughter encountered a newspaper article about a baby hippo orphaned by the 2005 Indonesian tsunami. Parent, child, and a naturalist they consulted are credited as coauthors. The story has a simple, direct appeal: the hippo is dramatically rescued and brought to a Kenyan nature preserve, where it forms a surprising bond with a giant tortoise. Inspirational language about "the power of courage, love, and the preciousness of life" clutters the powerful facts, and not all of the photos are equally crisp and closely cued to the text. But children will nonetheless embrace the incident's compelling anthropomorphic elements, thoughtfully framed by the authors, and will exclaim over the images of the winsome baby and its grizzled surrogate parent. Adults hoping to share the story with young readers may find this preferable to Jeanette Winter's picture book inspired by the same event, Mama (2006), which more starkly emphasizes the trauma of the tsunami itself. Category: Books for the Young--Nonfiction. 2006, Scholastic, $16.99. Gr. 1-3.

CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2007)
In the midst of the great devastation following the Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004, the plight of an orphaned and stranded baby hippo caught the attention of many. Photographer Peter Greste captured the baby hippo’s rescue on film and followed the animal to his new home at an animal sanctuary in Mombasa. Named Owen by his rescuers, the hippo was placed with a 130-year-old giant tortoise named Mzee, who was known for keeping to himself. But Owen followed Mzee constantly, and by the end of their first night together, he was snuggled against the tortoise’s side. The two have since become inseparable. Writer Craig Hatkoff strikes just the right note in telling Owen’s story, with an informative but easygoing style. CCBC Category: The Natural World. 2006, Scholastic Press, 32 pages, $16.99. Ages 5-10.

Allison L. Bernstein (Library Media Connection, October 2006)
After the deadly tsunami of 2004, the remnants of the wave hit Kenya and caused flooding in the rivers where the hippos usually fed. Near Malindi, one of the hippos was washed into the sea where it was trapped, and it took hundreds of villagers to save him. After finally getting the orphaned hippo to shore, they decided to name him Owen, after one of the rescuers. He was sent to Haller Park, an animal sanctuary in Kenya. Mzee is a 130-year-old Aldabra Tortoise who lives at Haller Park, and until he met Owen, was not a friendly creature. After being placed together, these two animals formed an unusual bond for mammal and reptile. As the photographs show, Owen nuzzles into Mzee as he sleeps and they are constant companions. Those that were involved in the rescue and resulting relationship look at the friendship as a positive side to the devastating tsunami. Every other page is illustrated with full-page color photos of Owen's rescue and his subsequent friendship with Mzee. Further information is provided about Haller Park, hippopotami, and the Aldabra Tortoises. Recommended. 2006, Scholastic, Inc, 32pp., $16.99 hc. Ages 6 to 9.

Deborah Stevenson, Associate Editor (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 2006 (Vol. 59, No. 9))
Among the tragic 2004 tsunami’s countless struggling survivors was a baby hippo stranded on the Kenyan shore after the disaster, who was saved by determined volunteers and given a home at the Haller Park animal sanctuary near Mombasa. There the exhausted baby, named Owen, focused on a centenarian tortoise known as Mzee, following the large reptile around as if he were the hippo’s mother; eventually the standoffish tortoise softened toward the youngster and the two became inseparable and affectionate companions. Hatkoff ’s book is a photoessay based on a televised e-book and co-authored by the manager at Haller Park. The adaptation is an effective one: the text is descriptive without becoming sentimental, clearly identifying speculation as such (“But since Mzee’s coloring and rounded shape are similar to a hippo’s, it’s possible that to Owen, Mzee looks like the hippo mother he needs”) and foregrounding the importance of the friendship over its explanation. While the color photographs are understandably a little blurry at times, the closeup portraits of the unlikely pair are vivid and eloquent. Winter’s title, in contrast, offers a nearly wordless series of tableaux, starting with happy scenes of the baby and mama together, contentedly uttering “Mama” and “Baby” to each other. When the baby’s mother is swept away and he’s left on his own amid a crowd of people, his cries of “Mama” range from frantic to plaintive to devastated to querulous; upon meeting his tortoise enclosure-mate, the “Mama!” becomes declaratory, and he follows the tortoise around peppering him with “Mama” until finally the tortoise curls up with the hippo with a tender “Baby.” The emotional impact of the harrowing disappearing-mother story makes this more suitable for slightly older viewers than the limited text might initially suggest, and it would likely benefit from considerable adult mediation, though the highly stylized and controlled patterning, figures, and bounding of the acrylic scenes help soften the story’s edge while imaginatively portraying the events (a ghostly figure of Owen’s mother looks on lovingly as he snuggles with the tortoise in the final scene). Owen & Mzee is more successful as an explanation of the real-life story, while Mama is a poignant fable; they could work complementarily or play to their different strengths for a variety of audiences, who will appreciate this tale of closeness found even after bereavement. Hatkoff ’s book includes informational end matter, including a map, while Winter provides author’s note to give factual background to her creatively told story. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2006, Scholastic, 36p, $16.99. Grades 2-4.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2006)
A nonfiction account of the relationship that inspired Jeanette Winter's Mama, this photo-documentary is a child-friendly portrait of the orphaned hippo that bonded with an aged tortoise in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The color photos are large and clear; though let down by excessive and sentimental anthropomorphism, the text is informative. Category: Nonfiction-Science. 2006, Scholastic, 40pp, 16.99. Ages 5 to 9. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.