What? Doesn't
everyone have a rhino in their living room?
You mean there are people out there who don't have a rhino who competes with the cat for a spot on their lap?
You're telling me that
your pet rhino doesn't have a favorite read aloud?
Rhino in the House: The True Story of Saving Samia
by Danial Kirk
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2017
review copy...well, I
had to have it, didn't I?
Rhinos are my spirit animal, so when
Cover to Cover Children's Books started their inventory reduction sale before their move, the rhino who'd been living there for a few years came home with us.
At our other favorite local independent bookstore,
Gramercy Books, I found this book and now I have an easy answer when anyone asks me who I would be if I could go back to any time in history. I would be Anna Merz so I could start a rhino sanctuary, find an abandoned baby rhino, and raise it in my own home. I would name her Samia, and I'd put her to sleep by letting her curl up on my lap while I sat in bed reading aloud to her to calm her down. I would learn what her grunts, squeaks, snorts, and toots meant. And I would help her transition to being an independent wild rhino. Oh, the adventures we would have together!
The story of Anna Merz's dedication to the conservation of endangered species, especially rhinos, is touching and funny, but most of all, inspirational. We need to raise up a new generation with her passion for doing the right thing and making the world right again.
