Jane Goodall: A Great Life
Dame Jane Goodall is one of the most remarkable scientists in the world. Her life story is a wonderful avenue to use to introduce young readers to the intellectual pursuit of scientific discipline and the world of biography. It is not surprising that many picture books biographies celebrate her life achievements. She is now in her mid-80s and she has had a remarkable life that includes an ideal childhood. Her life achievements from childhood to the present day stand as an example to gifted children of setting life goals at an early age, striving hard to achieve those goals despite obstacles, scientific methodologies, and how to crown a brilliant career by passing great wisdom on to younger generations. Her story also underscores the vital importance of parental support and encouragement to aid children when they face and conquer deterrents such as gender prejudice.
Jane Goodall was born in London, England in 1934. On her first birthday, her parents gave her a cuddly toy chimpanzee (rather than the traditional teddy bear) which was named Jubilee. Jane took Jubilee everywhere with her. As she grew a bit older, she filled her many play hours by pretending to be a teacher to all of her toy animals. Jubilee was always at the top of the class and the first to answer questions correctly. Jubilee helped young Jane develop a fondness for all living creatures. Even by five years of age, young Jane was behaving as a scientist. She was especially fascinated with how chicken hens lay eggs. One of her virtues that served her well throughout her entire life of play, work, and study was patience. Observation was one of the scientific tools she learned in her very first research project. She later wrote, You have to be patient if you want to learn about animals. She (with Jubilee, of course) hid, camouflaged under a bed of straw, in her grandmother’s henhouse. Her patience was rewarded when one of the hens entered the chicken house and lay her daily egg. Young Jane was transfixed. The wonders and marvels of science fired her imagination. She wanted to be a scientist. She loved all animals, the trees in her yard, and she was a passionate early reader. Her childhood was enriched by her introduction to two literary classics for children, The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting and Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Both books inspired her with a passionate love of Africa. By the age of ten, Jane knew that she wanted to go to Africa to study primates, especially chimpanzees, that lived in great forests there. From this very early age, Jane’s mother encouraged her to have great dreams and to believe that she could accomplish anything she aspired to become. She spent her school years studying science and she labored hard to save money for passage from England to Africa. Finally, in 1957, at the age of twenty-three years, she met the world famous anthropologist and paleontologist Dr. Louis Leakey in Kenya. This great scientist encouraged Jane to both observe chimpanzees in the vast wilderness of Gombe National Park in Tanzania and to seek her Ph.D. in ethology from Cambridge University.
Dr. Jane Goodall was the first known scientist to be realize that chimpanzees made and used tools and had social lives not unlike human groups. She eschewed the scientific method of her time of identifying wild animals using numbers. She not only befriended chimpanzees, she gave them personal names. Her first direct contact with a chimpanzee was with a large male that she named David Greybeard. Her studies of chimpanzees exemplify the behaviors and tools of great scientists. She was a tireless observer of the natural world, she kept copious notes in journals, she developed a large research center, she published her results to worldwide acclaim, she became a passionate environmentalist, and she passed on her passions to younger generations. In 1991, she created a youth organization called Roots and Shoots that today boasts a membership of at least 8,000 local chapters established in 150 nations around the globe. Roots and Shoots youth groups identify and work on environmental issues in their own communities.
A study of the life of Dame Jane Goodall is a perfect fit with STEM curricula. The three picture book biographies highlighted in this review also emphasize the great importance of the biography for gifted children. Renowned literacy expert Dr. Barbara Swaby writes of the crucial importance of biographies for early readers.
It is difficult to envision a reading program for children which does not include a reasonable number of biographical offerings. Biographies are among the most important forms of literature to which young children should be exposed. Apart from their potential for inspiration and motivation, biographies provide for children authentic exposure to real people who have had actual lives including childhoods to which children can relate and respond. Children see the evolution of real people often from childhood to adulthood and are allowed to discover that children such as they are, develop goals, passions, interests, and curiosities that often begin in early childhood and progress through life. (Personal communication, July 27, 2020.)
Brad Meltzer’s I am Jane Goodall is just one entry in his series of more than 30 illustrated biographies in the Ordinary People Change the World series. Other lives celebrated in the series include tributes to Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, Helen Keller, Harriet Tubman, and Sonia Sotomayor. Each volume includes a life story narrated in the first person voice that is complemented with delightful color cartoons, a personal timeline, photographs, and end matter that explores the subject’s life in greater factual detail. Sources, websites, and further reading suggestions are also noted.
Although the biographies highlighted in this review were created for younger readers they serve at least two additional benefits for older readers. The authors are known for their biographical accuracy and creativity. Jeanette Winter is an award-winning picture book biographer of fine artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Diego Rivera, and Henri Matisse. Patrick McDonnell is the creator of Art (Little, Brown, 2006), an introduction to the world of art for young readers. Brad Meltzer has written adult histories that have been New York Times bestsellers. Each volume in Meltzer’s series serves as a fine introduction to the life of a great person whose life and work may be studied in much greater detail. Secondly, each book reviewed herein serves as a template mature readers may utilize to share their advanced research while creating illustrated biographies of countless contemporary and past leaders.
McDonnell, Patrick. Me...Jane. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2011. Caldecott Honor Book.
Meltzer, Brad. I Am Jane Goodall. Illus. by Christopher Eliopoulos. Ordinary People Change the World series. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2016.
Winter, Jeanette. The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps. New York: Schwartz & Wade, 2011.
Home Activities
Encourage students to engage in further research into the life of Dr. Jane Goodall, including reading her own published studies. Students may be creative in creating more advanced works about her fervent dedication to science. One example might be a life of Jane Goodall utilizing a graphic novel format.
Suggest that gifted students of all ages employ online resources to research the worldwide Roots and Shoots organization. Are there local groups in their own communities? How can gifted youths begin their own local chapter? What are pressing environmental issues in their home areas or regions that might be the focus of a new chapter? Share Dr. Goodall’s inspirational words about each person having a beneficial impact on the world. Inspire today’s youth to create a blueprint or plan of action for their own local chapter of Roots and Shoots.
Urge students to study the scientific methods of Jane Goodall. What attributes contribute to the success of noted scientists? Gifted children may employ multiple forms of media (e.g., posters) to showcase the cardinal behaviors of eminent scientists.
Invite gifted children to read the timeless books that inspired young Jane Goodall to develop her passion for Africa and a life-long commitment to animal rights. Once students have read The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting and Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, ask them to use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast these classics.
