Owen the baby hippo and his mama were best friends. They loved to play hide-and-seek on the banks of the Sabaki River in Africa. That was all before the tsunami came and washed Owen's world away.

But after the rain stops, Owen befriends Mzee, a grayish brown tortoise. He plays with him, snuggles with him, and decides he just might turn out to be his best friend and a brand-new mama.

Inspired by the tsunami of 2004, acclaimed storyteller Marion Dane Bauer and celebrated illustrator John Butler depict this heartwarming true tale of healing, adoption, and rebirth -- with splendid illustrations and oodles of love.

 

This book has been graded for interest at 2-6 years.

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2010 by Simon & Schuster .

Marion Dane Bauer has written more than one hundred children's books, including the Newbery Honor Book On My Honor . She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. www. mariondanebauer. com John Butler is known and highly respected for his wildlife picture books. He has illustrated six titles for Puffin, all by Theresa Radcliffe. John lives in Kent with his wife and two grown-up daughters.