by Dr Francine Patterson (Author) , Ronald H Cohn (Photographer)

Synopsis: This is the true story of Koko the gorilla and her kitten, All Ball — how they met, how Koko loved and cared for All Ball, and how Koko grieved when All Ball died. The story is told by Dr. Francine Patterson, the first person to communicate with a gorilla using American Sign Language.

Over thirteen years, Koko learned about five hundred words from Dr. Patterson, which she used to communicate her feelings and desires. One of the desires she was able to express through ASL was for a kitten. At first, Dr. Patterson was not sure how Koko would treat a little kitten, but there was nothing to worry about. Koko treated the kitten as though it was her own baby. The affection and caring in the relationships between Dr. Patterson and Koko and between Koko and her kitten are captured in Ronald Cohn’s beautiful photographs.

Published: June 1987 | ISBN-13: 978-0590444255 | Age: 4-7 years

Book’s Homepage: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/kokos-kitten
The Gorilla Foundation: http://www.koko.org
The Gorilla Foundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/kokotweets

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