There are almost more words in the title than there are in the rest of this spare and poignant book. Small pages reflect the small size of a baby hippopotamus, who is shown swimming, eating, and sleeping with his mother, until they are separated by rising water and a great wave. After a night alone in the water, the hippo reaches shore and is moved by humans to a parklike area. Among the animals inside, he meets a giant tortoise. The text consists solely of conversation bubbles reflecting the variations in emotion as the baby animal first thinks “mama” when he sees his hippo mother, then searches frantically for “MAMA?” in the raging water, and then forlornly wonders “mama?” as he’s transported to his new home. As his situation calms, he again thinks “mama” as he swims, eats, and sleeps by the tortoise, who responds with “baby.” A concluding author’s note describes how a baby hippo swimming in Kenya’s Sabaki River was swept out to sea in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Found on shore the next day by wildlife officials and local fishermen and brought to a park enclosure, he attached himself to a 130-year-old male giant tortoise, who acts as a surrogate mother to the displaced baby hippo. (Ages 3–6)

Set during the devastating tsunami of 2004, MAMA is the touching true story of a baby hippo that was separated from his mother when the wave hit. After struggling alone for several days, the baby was rescued by Kenyan wildlife officers and brought to live in an animal refuge. There, all by himself, he adopted a new "mother"--that just happened to be a 130-year-old giant male tortoise. And they've been inseparable ever since.

Although MAMA takes place against the backdrop of a terrible human tragedy, at the heart of this story is a moving and original tale of adoption--and of finding love and companionship in the least likely of circumstances.
Includes an author's note.