Me . . . Jane

This absolutely delightful simple biography recounts Jane Goodall’s early childhood fascination with animals, beginning with the stuffed animal chimpanzee, Jubilee.It tells of her obsession for caring for animals and her decision early on to go to Africa to work with wild animals. Included are actual drawings and self-created games that Goodall drew as a small child, including the ‘Aligator Society’. McDonnell the creator of the comic strip Mutts, uses a simple and wonderful comics style to illustrate this book, to charming effect. The book ends with little Jane falling asleep and awaking as her adult self...in Africa.

In this delightful picture-book biography, Patrick McDonnell presents the story of celebrated primatologist Jane Goodall's childhood, when she explored and observed the natural world around her, with her stuffed chimpanzee Jubilee in tow. Watching the birds and spiders create their own homes, studying the plants and animals in her backyard, and falling in love with the idea of Africa while reading such books as Tarzan of the Apes, Goodall decided that one day she would travel to that continent, and study the animals there...

"Sweet" hardly seems an adequate word for Me...Jane, with its wonderful combination of simple but evocative text and adorable watercolor illustrations, but it keeps popping into my head, regardless. I don't know that show more it is really the best book about the life of Goodall, as the main narrative really had very few of the "facts" that one would expect - where and when she was born, how she came to Africa and what she did there - although they did show up the afterword. But it is an excellent examination of those qualities - curiosity, love of the natural world and of animals, an adventurous spirit - that made Goodall who she is. It's a book, less about what Jane Goodall has done, than how she became who she is. For that, I love it!

Now I think I will track down Jeanette Winter's The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps (oddly enough, another picture-book published this year), and see if it fills in some more biographical details. Perhaps the two will complement one another... we'll have to see! In any case, Me...Jane is a lovely book, one I highly recommend to young animal lovers, or to children who dream of adventure, and doing big things. show less

This sweet and short book is about Jane Goodall and her interest in chimpanzees, even as a child. I liked how the illustrations were light-hearted due to the mild colors, smiling faces, and subtle fade of the paintings into white page. The right sides of the pages seem to have the paintings and the left side had interesting stamp-like pictures that go along with the text and illustration. I liked how in the middle of the book, there were two pages dedicated to Jane's notes on alligators, birds, elephants, and giraffes. These notes were also portrayed to be old and textured notes from long ago. I loved how the book included a real photograph of Jane and a chimpanzee to show readers that her dream came true. Lastly, I really liked how the show more last page had a "Message from Jane", telling the readers the importance of living things and ways we can help our wildlife. The big idea of this book is to tell the story of Jane's dream, how it came about, and how she accomplished it, show less

An account of Jane Goodall's childhood, including some early writings and photographs. This one is just beautiful! I was amazed when I recognized the art style, but yes, this came from the same guy who does the newspaper strip about the cat that likes a sock. The art is a combination of simple, charming pen and marker drawings with decoupage-style use of old-time 'global adventurer'-flavored woodcuts that suit the mood of a young girl dreaming about someday becoming an explorer. The final page, in which the drawings transition into a photograph of the adult Goodall in Gombe, is just perfectly executed and made me teary-eyed. Fits best as an early reader, but I could see reading this to an infant or using it as a supplement with other show more material about Jane Goodall's adult life for older children, so I listed it as "all ages". show less

The young Jane Goodall portrayed by this appealing picture book of intellectual awakening presents a glimpse into the mind of the inquisitive girl who would become a beloved primatologist and a noted advocate for the environment. An inspiring story filled with primary sources from Dr. Goodall’s childhood, children in kindergarten through third grade will learn that true inspiration comes from a passion that starts at an early age. A consistent pulse throughout the true story is Jane’s fervent connection to all living things in her natural surroundings, which fosters her dreams of living with and helping animals. McDonnell’s simple ink and watercolor illustrations and sophisticated ornamental engravings in combination with Jane show more Goodall’s own scientific childhood drawings foretell the undeterred path of young Jane’s intellect and professional career. An author’s note and a note from Dr. Jane Goodall will inspire young children (especially girls) to consider all possibilities- encouraging them to make a difference in the world. show less

Picture book perfection: font, paper, layout. I love the whimsy of the cartoony drawings, the slow unfolding of Jane's deep deep curiosity and love of the natural world, and the dramatic surprise as we see to what extent her dream of a life in Africa comes true. (Extra star for teary final page turn)

Breaking free of the traditional, sequential format of most biographies, this book chooses to give the reader a snapshot of Jane Goodall’s childhood instead of a list of her vast accomplishments. Instead of a timeline of life accomplishments, the reader is provided with a vignette of a typical day for the young, endlessly curious Jane. The illustrations accomplish this using comic book style pen and watercolor illustrations layered with Jane’s own childhood drawings and images from historical science textbooks and almanacs. It is only at the end reveal that we realize that our main character has been an important historical figure all along; for adults, the foreshadowing might have given us some clues about her identity but I find show more that children with very little background knowledge about Dr. Goodall will end the story not knowing very much about her. This book is a pleasant take on the character-building aspect of the alternative bibliography, and entertains more than it informs. show less