My Life with the Chimpanzees
My Life with the Chimpanzees book cover

My Life with the Chimpanzees

Paperback – Illustrated, April 1, 1996

by
Price
$8.99
Format
Paperback
Pages
160
Publisher
Aladdin
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0671562717
Dimensions
5.13 x 0.5 x 7.5 inches
Weight
3.88 ounces

Description

"An engrossing tale of adventure and commitment". -- Defenders of Wildlife From the Publisher From the time she was a girl, Jane Goodall dreamed of a life spent working with animals. Finally she had her wish. When she was twenty-six years old, she ventured into the forests of Africa to observe chimpanzees in the wild. On her expeditions she braved the dangers with leopards and lions in the African bush. And she got to know an amazing group of wild chimpanzees -- intelligent animals whose lives, in work and play and family relationships, bear a surprising resemblance to our own. A DREAM COME TRUE From the time she was a girl, Jane Goodall dreamed of a life spent working with animals. Finally she had her wish. When she was twenty-six years old, she ventured into the forests of Africa to observe chimpanzees in the wild. On her expeditions she braved the dangers of the jungle and survived encounters with leopards and lions in the African bush. And she got to know an amazing group of wild chimpanzees -- intelligent animals whose lives, in work and play and family relationships, bear a surprising resemblance to our own. Jane Goodall's adventures with the chimps and the important discoveries she has made about them have gained her worldwide recognition. Now she tells her exciting story in her own words. Jane Goodall, famous for her studies of chimpanzees, has established the Gombe Stream Research Centre in Tanzania; founded the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education, and Conservation; and created the Roots & Shoots program to inspire young people to implement local projects that promote care for animals, the environment, and the human community. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • Inspired by a stuffed toy, Jane Goodall became the first woman to study chips in the wild and in the process made history.
  • As a child, Jane Goodall was given a stuffed chimpanzee named Jubilee, and she has said her fondness for this figure started her early love of animals. While others thought Jane would be terrified by the toy, she adored it and it inspired a life-long love of animals in her. Jane dreamed of a life spent working with animals, and when she was twenty-six years old, she ventured into the forests of Africa to observe chimpanzees in the wild. During her expeditions she braved many dangers and she got to know an amazing group of wild chimpanzees—intelligent animals whose lives, in work and play and family relationships, bear a surprising resemblance to our own. Through her work at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania and her own Roots and Shoots program she has become a tireless advocate for animals and the planet. As for that stuffed toy, Jubilee still sits on Goodall’s dresser in London.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(409)
★★★★
25%
(170)
★★★
15%
(102)
★★
7%
(48)
★
-7%
(-48)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Excellent autobiography for young people as well as adults.

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 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.
26 people found this helpful
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Inspiring Story for All Ages

My daughter loves apes, and we all love Jane Goodall. I bought this book for her as a birthday present. I would guess that it is written at at least a 3rd to 4th grade reading level. I read it aloud to my 8- and 6-year old girls. It is a short autobiography. We all liked the fact that it started with Jane's life as a young girl and then detailed how she ended up working with chimps. It also discussed her life with the chimps in detail, how she set up camp (her mother stayed with her at first, which I think is a charming detail) and various adventures that she had. The only part of the book that I did not care for so much was the final chapter which gets a little preachy about taking care of animals and the world. But even that doesn't bother me so much because she's RIGHT -- and my girls did listen and take what Jane Goodall wrote to heart.

This is a lovely book for anyone interested in Jane Goodall's work, anyone who needs a good autobiography project, who's interested in the life of a self-made woman, or who just loves nature. I felt that Jane Goodall had a good writing voice directed towards her intended audience -- children -- but that it was not childish. She treats the children reading the book as though they can make a difference and she does not dumb down or overly simplify her experience.
10 people found this helpful
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Wish there was more coverage on her life with the chimps

Read this with my 9 year old in conjunction with a school project, along with three other books on Goodall that my daughter got through pretty quickly. I had assumed this would be our favorite, that it would present an in depth look at Jane’s early years in Tanzania but we struggled to finish it. There is really only one chapter focusing on Jane’s life with the chimps and you have to get through more than 1/2 the book to get there. Although I still found the book to be interesting, my daughter had a hard time finishing it and much preferred Who is Jane Goodall.
9 people found this helpful
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Excellent book.

The book was purchased for a project learning about Jane Goodall. Unfortunately for me, I didn't look closely enough before buying the book to realize it was written for young readers. Even though it wasn't appropriate for my college level project, I read through it anyway and found it to be an excellent book.
9 people found this helpful
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The story line is interesting but I do wish someone would have done a better job of editing the grammar and sentence structure

While I haven't yet read beyond the first couple chapters, as a Middle School English teacher, I am frustrated that grammar errors I would insist my students correct, are included in this book for young people. We will be using this as a class book to meet the California requirements for non-fiction reading. The story line is interesting but I do wish someone would have done a better job of editing the grammar and sentence structure.
6 people found this helpful
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crackpot egoiste

I met Goddall when she visited our facility. Though I admire her championing of chimpanzees, I found her to be a rather self-absorbed egoiste who *liked* to emphasize how out of touch she was with mundane stuff (being so much more esoteric with her own chosen lifestyle). SHe was also a poor listener (other than to chimps) who never quite answered questions she was asked since she was on her own little self-absorbed bandwagon. Some of her comments were actually rather crackpot worthy as well. Just consider the title of this book--all about me and how austere and individual I am blah blah blah. Bless the chimps--their champs, however, are chumps
4 people found this helpful
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Great adult book!

I am an avid fan of jan goodall and her works. this book was very good on everything from descriptions to examples and issues that have faced chimpanzees, they are facing, and they will face. This book also delves into her personal life and explains tid bits along the way about why she is who she is and much much more. Only down side is that thier is not alot of pictures, would give five stars if would have included more pictures, but what can you say for the price?
4 people found this helpful
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Nice autobiography; will her graphic conservation notes depress young readers

Jane Goodall's story is extremely impressive and inspiring -- how she came to work with animals, as she'd wished from a very young age, and in time became a scientist who directed research of her beloved chimpanzeez - making astonishing discoveries -- and now is devoted to doing all she can in conservation efforts to save the planet and all of its inhabitants. This is a book written for ages 8-12. I've just read it in preparation for sending it to my neice, age 10, and now I feel ambivalent about sending it. Interwoven into the last approximately four chapters, Jane goes very heavily into conservation issues and the need for this age group to make a difference to save animals and to save the planet, so heavy, I fear an 8-12 YO could feel primarily depressed from reading this book, and, further, that this book could contribute to the prevalent depression and suicides of this age group, so worried about the world they are inheriting, and if not that, simply shocked by the notable descriptions of our industrial abuse of animals in too vivid detail for what I thought was an autobiography.
3 people found this helpful
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Great personal narrative

Great descriptions of the difficulties and obstacles she faced, the delays that occurred and readjustments that were made, yet she was undeterred in her goal of observing chimpanzees in their natural environment. Her steadfast determination and great discipline is evident in this personal narrative. The early support from Louis Leakey and her mother gave her initial support in embarking on what would become her life's work, leading to her later conservation efforts.
The only suggestion would be to have made the photos full page size and to have more of them, including more detailed maps.
3 people found this helpful
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My Life With The Chimpanzees

This book is a great introduction to Dr. Goodall, physical anthropology, and primatology. Because it is written by Jane, the insight into the lives of the chimpanzees and the environment in general gives us her own personal message of hope and preservation for all creatures and places.
3 people found this helpful

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