Me...Jane

I guess that makes me Tarzan.  I can live with that. 

THREE PROS

*Very few stories I have come across wholly embrace the concept of children following their dreams of making the world a better place while also showing how it could be realized -- this should not be confused with the many out there that, for instance, say kids can be pilots one day because they are fascinated with planes

*I have been very hard on the vast majority of Caldecott-honored books I've come across, but this one is worthy of the recognition it received 

*While Patrick McDonnell's artwork is top banana, his pacing and choice of words is wonderfully ripe as well   

THREE CONS 

*I wish the afterword had complemented the robust text about Jane Goodall with more photos of her as an adult surrounded by chimps

*There are multiple misspellings of "alligator" on the sketch pad page -- even if this is how young Jane chose to write the word, it should have been changed to avoid spawning a generation of kids who will make the same mistake 

*Boys and girls climb trees -- always have, always will - but I'd prefer not to have my son or daughter getting the idea that sitting at roof level for extended periods of time is a perfectly safe and reasonable thing to do 

ONE DAD'S OPINION

Honestly, I never would have thought that one of the first historical figures I would cover on this blog would be someone who is not known for her work with humans.  Nonetheless, when my favorite librarian in the world suggested McDonnell's work, how could I say no?  Thankfully, I was not disappointed in the least!  Go Buy this wonderful book right now -- your family will go ape for it!!                              

BUY / Borrow / Donate / Destroy