My Friends the Wild Chimpanzees, 1969 (book by Goodall).If you are interested in Jane Goodall, there are many, many ways to find out more. It would be a great recommend for a child doing a non-fiction book report. Not the best book I’ve ever read, but definitely worth the read. I did sense a lot of walling off, though, when it came to personal stories, and I felt under-gratified by some of the tales of her personal life, which may have been that way because the book was intended for children (or because Goodall is English). It was also a quick and easy read, both for me as an adult and for my eleven-year-old, who was more of the targeted audience. Different enough from mine that it took me to another world, which is way a book should read, fiction or not. Her voice was gentle, and she had so many stories to tell and so many thoughts to share. She has devoted herself not just to science, but to teaching, and activism, and has been a part of many organizations and movements. Goodall has led a life of unlikely fame, dogged devotion, and many, many accomplishments and awards. It’s like, I made this book for you, so you could see how you can realize your dreams, but also that animals need our protection and the earth needs our support. In fact, there is something especially endearing about the way she innocently and emphatically says things so pointedly. It also contains an unabashed world view which includes activism for chimpanzees and other animals, and she presents these ideas without caveat to the children reading her book. It starts when she was a child, and among other things, it shows on a personal level how a dream can become a reality when one is determined, persistent, and imaginative. This book is an autobiography or memoir, meant for children and outlining her first 28 years at Gombe National Park, Tanzania, in what would become the Jane Goodall Institute. My daughter read My Life with the Chimpazees for fifth grade, and so I-as always-followed suit.

Because I am not what I term a “creature person” (although I married one and beget one), I didn’t have any special interest in Goodall’s story. Jane Goodall, at least when I was growing up, was a household name.

My life with the chimpanzees author