Me...Jane

Title: Me... Jane
Author & Illustrator: Patrick McDonnell
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April, 2011
Genre/Format: Biography/Picture Book
Summary: Jane Goodall is one of the most important advocates for chimpanzees and an amazing primatologist and anthropologist.  In this beautiful picture book, Patrick McDonnell introduces us to a young Jane and her chimp Jubilee and shows us the curiosity that helped give us the Jane that we know and love today.
What Jen Thinks: I love animals and am in awe of the work Jane Gooddall has done to support chimpanzees. I love the sweet, muted illustrations that accompany this story of her childhood. The text is really simple but it tells the story of what seems like such a nice, caring person. I love the mood of this book and from looking at pictures of Jane Goodall it just seems like it represents her.
My favorite part of this book is when it shows her imagination and creativity. There is a two-page spread that shows drawings and activities she created for herself when she was little. I love how she created these to keep herself busy and that they were included in the book. I love to read non-fiction and remind myself all the way through that these things really happened. By adding her drawings and work into the book, I felt even more moved that it really happened and was really representing her and her childhood. I love how this book can start a discussion about so many things from Jane Gooddall and other famous people to animals and the caring for the environment.
What Kellee Thinks: Anyone who knows me knows that I love chimpanzees. I teach Hurt Go Happy yearly and visit my friends at The Center for Great Apes. Chimpanzees are amazing creatures and it is because of the work of Jane Goodall that we know to what extent of amazing they are. 

This book is simple at first glance, but it is so powerful. It shows the power of a dream and the power of a brilliant woman.  This book is truly an advocate for imagination & curiosity and reaching for your dream. 

Read Together: Grades 1 - 8
Read Alone: Grades 2 - 5
Read With:  The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter, Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby, My Life with Chimpanzees by Jane Goodall, The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins
Snatch of Text:  

"With the wind in her hair, she read and reread

the books about Tarzan of the Apes,

in which another girl, also named Jane,

lived in the jungles of Africa."

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Expository
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when you were really curious about something or wanted to know more about a topic. What did you do to feed your curiosity? Choose an endangered animal and write about the animal itself and what people can do to help save that animal.
Topics Covered: Biography, Dreams, Curiosity, Imagination, Caring, Animals

Jen *hearts* it

Kellee *hearts* it

       and