Preschool and Kindergarten

Alan loves animals, but the great cat house at the Bronx Zoo makes him sad. Why are they all alone in empty cages? Are they being punished? More than anything, he wants to be their champion—their voice—but he stutters uncontrollably.

Except when he talks to animals…then he is fluent.

This story follows the life of the man Time magazine calls “the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation”. To learn more about Alan Rabinowitz, check out his website on the link below:

https://www.panthera.org/alan-rabinowitz-tribute

In the back cover of the book there are two paragraphs about Alan Rabinowitz’s accomplishments that everyone should look at after reading this book. One thing that’s said in the summary is that “he has told audiences that he feels lucky to have been given the gift of stuttering and believes that had he not stuttered, he would not be on the path of this passion”. Maybe people look at their problems the wrong way. Maybe your greatest weakness is your greatest strength. Find a way to work with your difference and don’t let it work you.

Since this books’ main focus is about stuttering and how to make the most of it, I figured I could mention another famous stutterer, Drew Lynch. Drew Lynch is a stand-up comedian known for his severe stutter. Unlike Alan Rabinowitz, Drew Lynch wasn’t born with his stutter, he got hit in the throat with a softball, causing damage to his vocal cords. Check out his YouTube video on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/user/WordsRHard/featured

If you’re looking for more books about kids who stutter, check out Paperboyby Vince Vawter, one of my earlier book reviews. You can find that particular review in the 2016 March section of this blog.

And as a bonus, here are some pictures of baby jaguars.

Aren’t they beautiful? Let’s keep this species of big cats around.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Jaguars

A jaguar’s bite is strong enough to dent a bowling ball.