When I heard Jane Goodall was coming to Salt Lake City to give a lecture, I knew I had to go and I knew I had to take Theo with me. I remember first learning about her as a child and thought she was the embodiment of intellect, adventure and kindness. Her story is just amazing and I feel it is such a great real-life story for kids to relate to (who doesn’t want to live among the animals?).

She is coming to speak on Friday, April 24, 2015 and information can be found here.

In order to get ready for this event, we will be re-reading the wonderful children’s book, ME…JANE by Patrick McDonnell. The illustrations are adorable and there is a short snippet at the end with a biography of the real Jane from the story. There are other biographies that you can also find that give a wider overview of her research and work, but I feel like this picture book is a nice introduction.

When Theo was younger, it felt like we constantly had Raffi songs playing in the background. Two of the more charming songs had Jane Goodall as the subject matter. They are below: “Roots and Shoots” (referencing the name of her global environmental and humanitarian youth program) and “Jane, Jane.” I am so excited to have the opportunity to see her in person and have Theo experience the inspirational work she does first-hand.