Jane Goodall inspires and educates animal lovers around the world, and now the story of Jane as a young girl can entertain and bring hope and courage to children of all ages.

 Me...Jane, written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell, an award-winning picture book author and creator of the internationally syndicated comic strip “Mutts,” was released in April 2011 in a hardback edition from Litlle, Brown and Company. The book follows Jane from her start as a young girl who loves to play outside with her stuffed animal monkey Jubilee, studying the birds and other creatures that live in her backyard. As a child, Jane has a dream to live in Africa and help all animals, and the book talks about how Jane's mother encouraged her to keep pursuing her goal. Young Jane started an animal-lovers club called the Alligator Society, and original sketches produced for the club by Jane herself so long ago are reproduced in a two-page spread. The rest of the book is illustrated with McDonnell's skillful and playful art.

My own daughter, a six-year-old aspiring zoologist, loved the book from start to finish, and she couldn't stop laughing at Jubilee and young Jane, and had many questions to ask about the animals featured in the book. Although Me...Jane does have a moral—daring to dream big and make it happen, the book is not at all preachy but instead delivers the lesson subtly through the storyline and through a present-day Jane's words of inspiration included on the back pages.

Jane Goodall is a true champion of the animal kingdom, and if you're looking for a story to motivate as well as delight, Me...Jane is a book to get.