Colo's Story: The Life of One Grand Gorilla
by Nancy Roe Pimm
forward by Jack Hanna
School Street Media, 2011
review copy purchased for my classroom
Isn't there always one student in your class who wants to be a zoologist when they grow up? If you're lucky enough to live in a city with a fabulous zoo, like the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, that child can fuel his passion with visits to the zoo, zoo camps, and best of all, the possibility of volunteer work when he gets older.
In between trips to the zoo, there are now three books in the Columbus Zoo Books For Young Readers series (see my review of Frenemies for Life and Beco's Big Year). In the newest book of this trio, local author Nancy Roe Pimm has written a fabulous biography of the Columbus Zoo's gorilla matriarch Colo. But it's more than just a biography of one special animal, it is a history of the impact of one gorilla on the growth of the Columbus Zoo into a world-class zoo, research facility and conservation partner. In fact, Colo and her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have influenced zoos, gorilla research and gorilla conservation world-wide. Pretty impressive, when you consider her birth -- the first zoo-born gorilla in the world:
"When Warren Dean Thomas found a newborn gorilla barely alive on the floor of her mother's habitat at the Columbus Zoo more than five decades ago, no one really understood the profound influence this tiny baby would have."Why I love this series:
1. It's about animals at our local zoo.
2. They are written by local authors.
3. They are filled with fabulous photos.
