Suryia and Roscoe

March 1, 2011
Young animal lovers, especially those compelled by the story of the stranded baby hippo and giant tortoise introduced in Isabella and Craig Hatkoffs' Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship (2006), will be eager to read about this unlikely pairing between a stray dog and an orangutan in a wildlife preserve. Charming, close-up full-color photos show expressions on the animals' faces and convey their closeness. While it seems clear that the pictures were staged after the fact—when Roscoe first arrives at the preserve he is "thin and he needed a bath," but the photo shows a sleek, healthy Roscoe, for example—most kids won't care about that; they'll simply want to see more of the friends having fun. Suryia seems nearly human in his interactions with Roscoe: He smiles, hugs and poses for the camera, which could spark discussions about the fact that all living things are related, especially how and why primates are similar to people. A surprising amount of information about animals is folded into the brief narrative: It's explained that dogs smile by wagging their tails and that dogs and orangutans aren't normally friends; also, other animals living at the preserve are shown. The clean, photo album–like design, high-interest topic, accessible text and captivating images will likely garner Suryia and Roscoe legions of new friends. (author's note, map)  (Picture book. 4-8)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2011

PreS-Gr 2-Suryia, an orangutan, lives on a South Carolina preserve called The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species. One day he was out walking with his friend, Bubbles, an elephant, when a stray dog came out of the woods and bounded up to him. The two bonded immediately and became best pals. Other preserve inhabitants, like the tigers, pumas, lions, leopard, gators, turtles, and tapirs are all shown in the engaging photographs. There are brief glimpses of the wildlife refuge, but Suryia and Roscoe take center stage as their friendly affection is documented again and again. Several portraits of the animals have no backgrounds and are decorative rather than informative. Brief text is smoothly paced and explains how the animals met and the relationship they developed. They are shown taking walks, wrestling, eating, and sleeping; they also swim together, which is extremely unusual because orangutans don't normally swim. The photos capture moments that show the keeper's careful attention to safety, such as Suryia wearing a life vest in the water, and another of the orangutan leading his friend on a leash, which suggests staging. This is a thin tale, but the engaging animals will appeal to children.-Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2011
Preschool-G An orangutan and a dog become best friends and live happily ever after in this picture-book photo-essay. Not as strong as the recent standard-bearer of the animal-opposites-attract genre, Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship (2006), this title includes images that have a posed and contrived feel in their visual reenactment of the meeting and bonding of two creatures at South Carolinas Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, founded by the author. Still, the photographs of the buddies playing together or just hanging out are undeniably awww-inducing. Arranged on clean square pages, the adorable images are paired with basic, straightforward text that tells a simple story of animal interaction: Suryia and Roscoe played on the riverbank. They chased each other until Roscoe panted and sat down. Suryia put a long, hairy arm around him. And they rested together. Fans of cute animal books will be delighted.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)