Up Close: Owen & Mzee author Craig Hatkoff

By Karyn M. Peterson -- Playthings, 7/10/2007 8:31:00 AM

You can’t judge a book by its cover—or a tortoise by its shell, according to Owen, the baby hippopotamus who found an adopted parent (and best friend) in a 130-year-old Aldabran tortoise named Mzee. The unlikely duo’s endearing true story is captured in the bestselling Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, created by Craig Hatkoff and his young daughter Isabella with ecologist Dr. Paula Kahumbu and photojournalist Peter Greste.

After the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia swept away his mother and the rest of his herd, the 600-pound orphaned hippo, adrift in the Indian Ocean, was rescued and brought to Kahumbu’s Haller Park animal sanctuary in Kenya. Owen immediately ran to Mzee, who taught him everything—how to find food, where to sleep and when to swim. The rest is history. "We immediately recognized the appeal of Owen and Mzee," says Scholastic’s Ellie Berger, publisher. "We're thrilled with the success, both the great critical acclaim as well as the strong sales."

To capitalize on this phenomenon—as well as to educate kids about animals and the environment—the authors have debuted the continuing adventures of the pair in Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship, also from Scholastic. A board book version of the story as well as a new website—which features a documentary, teaching guides, photo galleries, weekly blogs and kid-friendly activities—have also been created. Next up are new plush from Oakland, Calif.-based MerryMakers.

As Hatkoff told Playthings in an exclusive interview last month, at least one more Owen & Mzee book is being planned in the series and additional licensed products might also be on the horizon. Hatkoff also shared with us his plans to showcase another animal celebrity in picture book form later this year—Knut, the orphaned polar bear now cared for by the Berlin Zoo—and outlined his vision for his publishing company, Turtle Pond Publications. Here is the rest of our interview in its entirety.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit more about the Owen & Mzee books?

Hatkoff: The Owen and Mzee books are all based on facts … The first book chronicles the duo’s introduction to each other and how Owen latched on to an unlikely friend. Mzee uncharacteristically took Owen under his wing … and they became inseparable.

Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship continues to two years into their relationship. Their friendship is at a new level—while continuing to live, sleep and play together, the pair have created a language of their own, astounding conservationists across the world. They have created unique sounds that neither hippos nor tortoises make naturally, and use gentle nods and pushes to communicate with one another. Upon learning from the zoo that Owen and Mzee created their own way of communicating across species, we felt that would make the perfect theme for the second installment. Also, some new characters are introduced, including Cleo the hippo and Toto the giant tortoise.

Q: What is it about their story that inspired you?

Hatkoff: We knew there was something very special about this story. Owen and Mzee give testament to the power of friendship. Their true story that borders on the unbelievable teaches us many beautiful lessons on many levels, including friendship, conservation and tolerance.

Q: What was it like working on the books with your daughter?

Hatkoff: It was a wonderful experience to work with Isabella on the books. It is exciting to watch our father/daughter time blossom into two bestselling books. I write books with both of my daughters and they have strong views and a great creative sensibility with an astute eye of what would appeal to children.

Q: The first book was extremely well received—did the extent of that success surprise you?

Hatkoff: It did surprise us. We knew the story was captivating and that the photos were vivid and appealing, but I don't think we expected the first book to be on The New York Times best seller list for more than 42 weeks! In fact, there were several weeks where both of the books were on the best seller list simultaneously. The book series success has enables us to spawn a very popular website, www.owenandmzee.com.

Q: Will there be even more books featuring these characters?

Hatkoff: We expect there will be one more Owen and Mzee book in the series at least—maybe when the duo become dads?

Q: When did OwenandMzee.com launch, and how was the site developed?

Hatkoff: It was launched in February of this year and has become very popular. The website that will also be marketed by Scholastic.com, was conceived as an engaging and highly interactive way to update Owen and Mzee's loyal fans on the pair's developing relationship through weekly blogs and current photos. Unlike other children's sites, Owenandmzee.com features a set of kid-friendly, user-generated content applications including Owen and Mzee on-line filmmaker and karaoke singalong. ESI, Ed Schlossberg's company, designed the website for us.

Q: How did the idea for the plush products develop?

Hatkoff: The plush products were a natural fit. Plushies appeal to children as does the book and this allows for everyone to have their own "real life" Owen and Mzee at home.

Q: Are you interested in pursuing additional tie-in merchandise, such as apparel, other toys, educational materials, room décor, stationary, or even a DVD or TV property?

Hatkoff: Owen and Mzee have become such beloved characters to millions across the globe that the possibilities as far as merchandise and marketing ties are endless.

Q: Do you have any promotional partners, programs or events lined up?

Hatkoff: Turtle Pond is dedicated to making our stories accessible to as many children as possible in anyway we can—from book readings and signings when my schedule permits, to creating and sharing various editions of Owen and Mzee. We have donated computers as well as a few hundred Braille editions of Owen and Mzee to the Likoni School for the Blind in Mombassa, Kenya. We are tremendously honored that the story of Owen and Mzee reaches the seeing impaired and hope to continue our partnership with the school.

Turtle Pond has also donated 1,000 Swahili editions of the book to the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, which has been publishing and distributing educational materials, as well as providing financial aid to Kenyan students since 1996.

The international language of friendship inspired by our tortoise and hippo have given us the ability to reach so many children across the globe and we are thrilled to be able to do so. Turtle Pond will continue to support these organizations and we hope to become involved with many more in the future.

Q: Can you tell us a bit more about your upcoming polar bear book?

Hatkoff: Turtle Pond Publications has an agreement with the Berlin Zoo for the worldwide publishing rights for Knut, the polar bear. Knut has become the face of global warming and emerged as a symbol for a greener world as scientists have issued warnings that the polar bear will soon be extinct if radical measures are not taken. The telegenic bear cub appeared on the cover of the Vanity Fair "Green" Issue with Leonardo DiCaprio and was also published in People magazine headlined as "The Cutest Animal Ever!" and "Happy Knut year!"

After seeing Knut on the Vanity Fair cover I began conversations with the Berlin Zoo, and, due to the popularity of the Owen and Mzee series, we agreed to a partnership. We hope to have a book released in Germany this summer and the book out in the U.S. this fall. As with Owen and Mzee, the branding and marketing possibilities are endless, but we do expect to have a website for Knut like the Owen and Mzee site.

Q: What else is next for you?

Hatkoff: Turtle Pond Publications has our hands in a variety of different projects and we hope to announce some new opportunities soon.