The Birdman

A broken man, unable even to work, Noor Nobi wanders the busy streets of Calcutta. One day he found the cages crammed with birds. With his last bit of money he buys the sick, left over birds that no one wants. At home, he nurses them back to health, and in a simple act of kindness that few understand, sets them free. So begins Noor Nobi’s journey back from despair. The Birdman is a true story.

Illustration: Gouache on Arches paper

Ryan and Jimmy: And the Well In Africa that Brought Them Together

In Agweo, Uganda, villagers were used to walking a long way every day in search of water. It costs a lot of money to build a well in Africa. The 6-year-old, Ryan Hreljac, kept doing chores around his parents’ house, even after he learned it could take him years to earn enough money to build one. Then a friend of the family wrote an article in the local newspaper about Ryan’s wish to build a well in Africa to supply people with clean water. After Ryan’s well was built, a young orphan named Akana longed for a chance to thank Ryan in person for this gift of life-clean water.

This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

Owen & Mzee: The True Story Of a Remarkable Friendship

True story of two great friends: a baby hippo named Owen and a 130-year-old giant tortoise named Mzee.  In December 2004, a young hippo separated from his family by the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia, adopted an ancient Aldabra tortoise as his ” mother”. And the old tortoise, for years a loner, accepted the baby hippo as his own.  They are now inseparable.