In the early 1950's, the Columbus zoo in Ohio received three young gorillas. At that moment, they had the most gorillas of any zoo in the US, and there were only 60 of the animals in the country. Little was known about how to care for them, but the zookeepers did their best with the new rare creatures. A few years later, the keepers knew their female gorilla was pregnant, and on December 22, 1956, baby Colo was discovered on the cold concrete floor near her mother, who had no idea what to do with this baby. The keepers took her, revived her, and kept her warm and fed, all the while documenting every possible detail of little Colo's life in order to learn about baby gorillas. The news of the first gorilla baby in captivity spread fast -- the mayor handed out cigars labeled "It's a Girl!" and magazines and television shows called for interviews and pictures. This wonderful nonfiction book is partly the story of Colo's life at the zoo, and partly the story of how care and housing for gorillas has changed to reflect what researchers and zookepers have learned about the animals. Easy to read without "talking down" to the reader, this has high quality pictures and an incredible amount of information in its 78 pages, as well as an introduction by Jack Hanna, director of the Columbus Zoo and well-known wildlife conservationist. Great for anyone who loves animals! ( )