My Life with the Chimpanzees

My 8 year old was assigned to do her monthly book report on a biography. She wanted to read about Abraham Lincoln... until she found out she had to dress up as the book's subject! Regrouping with a week to go and a driving vacation looming, I rushed to ...to find a children's biography available in audio download... and stumbled upon this gem. We all listened to the (abridged) audio version on the trip, and I do think that hearing it read by the author added a great deal. My daughter read the unabridged book with fascination when we got home, though I suspect she might have had more difficulty relating to the book had she not heard Jane Goodall speak her own words first. At any rate, the report (outfitted with khakis, a notebook, and a velcro-handed stuffed chimp) was a great success, and my daughter has met a role model of determination, compassion, and wisdom.

An excellent book! Reading about the extraordinary life Jane Goodall has led is fascinating in itself. Add to it the personalities of the chimps you get to know as you read the book and the adventures Jane Goodall has experienced, and you have a fascinating read. Other reviews recommend this book to children, I recommend it for adults as well. I am thirty-something years young and cried when I read parts of this. Dr. Goodall's love for these animals really comes through.

This is a beautiful book, grasping your atention and holding your hand thru a fantastic journey into Africa, and into the chimpanzes of the Gombe. You will get to meet all of them, and even see how they are like, observing the individual diferences of their behaviour. Parents: please purchase it for your kids! Kids: get your parents to buy it for you! Inspiring! I am now 22, but I must have been 10 when I first read this book (not this edition of course!). I still purchase Jane Goodall's books...and I'm following the dream she helped inspire: to go to a place no one can pronounce to study an animal few people care about...

My daughter is 6 and we have read a lengthy excerpt every day since she received this book for Christmas. She is enthralled. Ms. Goodall is a wonderful, true-life role model for young girls.

I liked the book because it was an adventure story. In one part, the plane crashed. Jane Goodall, Grub (her son), and Derreck (the pilot) didn't get hurt, but they had to cross a river full of crocodiles! I also like the book because it is about Africa, a continent I only know a little about. Besides the amazing animals, I learned that there are important fossil beds in Africa.Chimps are a central part of the story. The author does a good job of describing the chimps' habits and behavior. The chimps challenge each other for the alpha position (highest ranked position in the group).I found Jane Goodall likeable because she has interest in saving an endangered species. She reported that chimps can make tools and use them as well as we can. No one knew that before Jane discovered it. Dr. Goodall is also the leader of a special club dedicated to saving chimpanzess.I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the fascinating behavior of animals.