about the book
Ben Tomlin is sure that all happy families are alike, and he is also sure that his unhappy family is different from all other unhappy families. That is because, for thirteen years, Ben was an only child—and then, one day, out of the blue, his mother brings home Zan, an eight-day-old chimpanzee.
That’s weird enough, but what his father, a renowned behavioral scientist, plans to do with Zan is even stranger—he is conducting a high-profile experiment to find out, once and for all, if chimpanzees can acquire language skills. That means Ben is supposed to treat Zan just like he is his little brother.
At first annoyed by his new task, Ben eventually comes around, especially when it becomes apparent that Zan thinks of him as his favorite. Zan gets older and stronger, and more chimpanzee-ish, both in good ways and in animal brutality. Ben cannot help but think of Zan as his brother, though, and when Ben’s father’s experiment begins to get in the way of Ben and Zan, Ben will have to make a tough choice—between his father and his “brother.”
about the author
Kenneth Oppel didn’t always want to be a writer. First he wanted to be a scientist. Then an architect.
From the age of twelve, he wanted to write. He wrote his first children’s novel during summer vacation at age fourteen. It started as a short story and just kept getting longer until it was a 25,000 word novel about video games.
He passed the manuscript to a family friend who knew Roald Dahl, who liked the story well enough to pass it along to his agent. Four years later, Kenneth Oppel’s first book, Colin’s Fantastic Video Adventure, was published, before he was even out of high school. He says of the experience “I can’t imagine anything more exciting than the letter I got from the agent saying, ‘Roald Dahl passed us your manuscript, and we would like to take it on.’”
Despite this success, he knew that the next step for him was college. Ken continued to write children’s books while attending the University of Toronto, and he worked as a film critic for the student newspaper. He always kept his eyes open for ideas for books. He had the idea for The Live-Forever Machine while walking on a path behind the Royal Ontario Museum, where he peeked into the windows of the museum workshops and started imagining who would work in the back rooms of a museum.
Ken now lives in Toronto with his wife and children.
Source:
Author website
Also by Kenneth Oppel:
Boundless. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 2014.
Such Wicked Intent (The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, Book 2). Simon & Schuster. 2012.
This Dark Endeavor (The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, Book 1). Simon & Schuster. 2011.
Starclimber (Airborn, Book 3). Eos. 2009.
Skybreaker (Airborn, Book 2). Eos. 2006.
Airborn (Book 1). Eos. 2004.
The Silverwing Trilogy. Simon & Schuster. 1997-2007.
read more!
Boundless by Kenneth Oppel
Will Everett, an aspiring young artist, and his father, James, board The Boundless, the longest train ever made in North America. James is there for a late Baron’s funeral, but Will is there for adventure. A murder mystery provides one, as well as a plot to break into the Baron’s funeral car and steal his valuables. With new friends from a circus car, Will sets out to solve the mystery.
Eva by Peter Dickinson
After a horrible car crash, Eva awakes from a coma with her mind in the body of a chimp. Society has evolved to a stage where transplanted organs and chimpanzees have merged to create a world where life can go on despite impairments. This new life, however, is wrought with complications.
Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby
Joey has been deaf since the age of six. Her mother refused to let her learn sign language, isolating her from everyone until she meets Dr. Mansell. The doctor and his chimpanzee, Sukari, communicate with sign language. Joey secretly learns to sign, and her world blooms with possibilities. However, their choices begin to narrow when Sukari’s life is endangered.