MAMA: a TRUE story, in which a BABY HIPPO loses his MAMA during a TSUNAMI, but finds a new home, and a new MAMA

This story was very sad, but very hopeful in the end. I love how the author used 3 different words top to create this brilliant story. The emphasis and significance of punctuation throughout the book is huge! The question marks behind the word mama showed confusion and fear, sadness, and mournful. The exclamation marks showed: happiness, optimism, and gratefulness. The illustrations in this book also had a serious influence on the reader. The simple tear drops coming from the hippo's eyes made me very sympathetic for both the young hippo and the mother hippo. I love the note about the true story, it gives the book a touch of realness and entices the reader to have these emotions about what happens to animals in the wild. Great book!

During the tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean in 2004 near Indonesia, a group of hippos that were swimming in Kenya’s Sabaki River were swept out to sea. Most of the hippos returned to safety, but one baby hippo was separated from his mother and washed up on shore after spending the night in the ocean. The baby hippo, less than a year old, was rescued by Kenyan wildlife officials and local fishermen and brought to a wildlife park. The baby hippo, now named Owen, immediately adopted a 130-year-old male tortoise named Mzee (“old man” in Swahili) as his new parent.

Mama tells the story of Owen the baby hippo through a series of charming illustrations that use only the words “mama” and “baby” to tell the tale. Even show more pre-reading children will be able to follow Owen’s story, and having them explain what they think is happening in the pictures is a great first start towards building reading comprehension skills.

Mama is a wonderful testament to the power of adoptive families, and a celebration of the fact that they can occur even in the animal kingdom. Because it can be understood as a picture book even by very young children, this book is a good resource for introducing the idea of adoption to children who may not have heard their own adoption story yet. This positive message is further affirmed by the final panel, which shows the spirit of the mama hippo looking down happily upon Owen and Mzee.

One drawback of the book’s presentation is that it does not make it apparent that Mzee is a male tortoise, especially since Owen calls him “mama”, so the idea of animal fatherhood is somewhat obscured. Parents who want to make this point clear to their children should read the Author’s Note at the end of the book, and any child will be fascinated to know that this is a true-life story. Review By Book Dads show less

Having experience with tsunami in Sumatera island. Indonesia in 2004 makes me glad to find this book. There are so many stories of friends and people who lost their family, relatives, friends, and colleagues. I right away want to include this book in my collection and become one of my favorites. It is a lovely and touching picture storybook which beautifully captures a true story of a one-year-old hippopotamus, Owen, who lost her mother when tsunami happened in 2004, but surprisingly attach to Mzee, a 130-year-old giant tortoise in Kenyan wildlife preserve.

I would love to share this book with Indonesian children. They will find hope and caring through “Mama” which Jeanette Winter, the author does a wonderful job in engaging the show more readers’ emotions to see a baby hippo’s sad and moving story.
There are only two words in this book “mama” and “baby”. Jeanette Winter takes the readers through joyful life with his mama, until suddenly he is alone and desperate while looking for his mama after harmful tsunami takes away his family. I like the fact that the baby hippo is rescued and taken care in a place where he meets an old loving tortoise that finally becomes his companion.

In solid-color borders style on every page, Winter uses acrylic on rich and vivid watercolor paper. At the end, it is illustrated a baby hippo says “mama” and the old tortoise replies by saying “baby”. The baby hippo snuggles to the old tortoise, feel so comfortable, as a mama hippo reflection smiling under a starring sky.
Winter provides an informative note in the end of the book to help the readers see and feel the true story happening in 2004.
I would recommend teachers use this book with their 3 to 7 years old children to share about relationships, human or animals, natural disaster, or parents-children relations. show less

Jeanette Winters' Mama: A True Story is a picture book that was created to tell the story of a baby hippo who gets separated from his Mama during the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean, on December 26, 2004. When the baby hippo makes it to shore, he is taken to a park where he continues to search for his Mama. Unable to find her, he bonds with a turtle, who he affectionately calls Mama. At first, the turtle is hesitant to take on this responsibility. Eventually, the turtle changes his mind and becomes the caretaker of the baby hippo. The final image shows the turtle and the baby hippo snuggling. Even though the baby hippo now has the support of the turtle, the spirit of Mama hippo will always be with her baby.

Making use of acryllic on Arches show more watercolor paper, the author-illustrator primarily tells her story through her gorgoeus illustrations. In fact, the story, itself, only has two repeated words: mama and baby. However, the author includes a note that follows the story, in which she shares background information for those who are unfamiliar with the event on which this story is based.

This book will appeal to a wide range of students. Certainly, it can be enjoyed by students who are just learning how to read, as they will only need to be familiar with two words to successfully work through this piece. This book might also be enjoyed by older students, particularly if these students are discussing the tsunami of 2004 or another related topic. In fact, Mama: A True Story might even encourage students to engage in some service learning in hope of making life better for the people and animals who have survived natural disasters, similar to the one that caused the baby hippo and his Mama to lose one another. While reading this piece, I found myself wondering if Mama: A True Story might be a book that a teacher or parent could put in the hands of a child who is adopted or one who is getting to know a step parent. show less

This adorable true story of a baby hippo who was separated from his mama when a tsunami struck in the Indian Ocean will melt your heart as the lost baby finds comfort in an unimaginable creature.
(Pair with "Owen & Mzee")

Mama tells the story of Owen, the baby hippo, who was swept out to see during the 2004 tsunami. This virtuously wordless picture book takes readers through his journey of survival. Although the pictures are simple, building the background of the story will captivate the books' readers. This is a true story of survival, hope and family.

Jeanette Winter normally tells powerful stories, but I don't think she quite captured this (true) one. Her illustrations aren't warm, and when you combine that with an extremely spare text, it's hard to connect to the characters.