Judged by its cover, this library sale leftover looked more than a little bizarre—
"Grub," according to Goodall's introduction, was simply the family's nickname for son Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick, who spent extended periods of infancy and early childhood accompanying his parents on research trips.
Or, as the pictures and words have it—
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There was a time when chimps came first in their lives...
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| but then things changed. |
Grub, says Goodall
... had learned to imitate the roar of a lion, the whooping call of a hyena, the strange high-pitched bark of a zebra, and the grunting and lowing of a wildebeeste long before he could speak a single word of human language.
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By the time Grub was two he could recognize and identify most of the different sorts of wild animals we encountered around camp or on our drives, just as a city child may pick out different makes of cars he sees in the streets. Grub stands no more danger of being attacked by a wild animal than a city child of being knocked over by a car, but from dawn to dusk our son is never out of the sight of some responsible person.
With pictures mostly by the photographer father, this originally was intended for grandparents and other family, not for publication, says Goodall.
But because so many people enjoyed it we decided that the pictorial account of a baby's life, in surroundings quite out of the ordinary to most people, might be appealing to other children and perhaps to their parents as well.
The result is a weirdly arresting mix: pictures from a childhood lived exceptionally close to a dramatic natural world—
Accompanied by the cutesiest of captions.
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I made sure I didn't get left behind...
when Daddy and Mummy packed up to drive 600 miles to the shores of Lake Tanganyika |
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where the chimps are.
Mummy and Daddy built a whole, huge, strong, well-provisioned cage... |
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| for ME! |
In the next year's return to the field—
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| One morning I asked Mummy to help me study an elephant. But she wouldn't go close enough, |
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so I decided to study zebra on my own.
When I had finished I rushed back to tell Mummy about them. |
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The next day we moved to the Serengeti and I was able to get my first close look at a giraffe. Unfortunately it galloped away when Mummy ran after me.
Soon after this Daddy employed two nannies... |
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| they were HUGE fun! |
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| I always helped to collect firewood. |
After reassuring readers about adult supervision, the book closes with Grub's kindergarten career ("I attended the local school and enjoyed outdoor sports the most")...
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| But I kept up O.K. with the academic side, too. |
The End...
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I've grown up a lot this year. I've learned to be ready for anything.
Now I'm all set for my next safari. |
