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Johnny Kingdom
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Book
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Publisher | Bantam | ||
ISBN | 9780552157346 | ||
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Reviewer
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Jayne
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Synopsis
When a farmer on Exmoor found a frightened and badly injured red deer calf hanging by the leg from a barbed wire fence, he knew there was only one man he could call. Johnny Kingdom took Bambi home and became her surrogate mother, nursing her through the night after the dangerous operation to amputate her now infected limb. Against the odds, Bambi survived and, as she grew bigger, became a part of Johnny's family, taking over his garden and developing a taste for custard creams (and Johnny's wife's roses). But it wasn't just Johnny and his family who loved Bambi - friends, neighbours and even complete strangers would occasionally drop by with tasty treats they thought she might enjoy.But the doe in his back garden was by no means Johnny's only contact with the red deer of Exmoor. Over the years he followed the wild herds over moor and farmland as the seasons changed, filming every detail of their lives and trying to understand what Bambi was missing out on. Millions of viewers fell in love with Bambi during Johnny's BBC television series and accompanying book, but now he tells her full story. Sometimes poignant and sometimes hilarious, this is both the tale of all of Exmoor's wild deer and the story of how one very special animal came to live a very different life.
Review
Johnny Kingdom's 'Bambi and Me' had me crying just the way I did when I saw the film Bambi as a young child. A wonderful book and a super story of how life can be saved and challenges can be conquered.
This book is so moving and the way that Johnny and his family adapt their lives and their home and garden to look after this baby fawn who was trapped on a fence at a neighbours farm is fantastic. Johnny is someone who we have come to love over the years on television for his beautiful wildlife photography.
Johnny puts into words and pictures the life of this wonderful animal who could not be returned to the wild because of the disability thrown upon her when she was caught in the fence at just a few days old. To see this wild animal grow to accept Johnny and his family as his family is amazing and the tales that come from this experience are truly the most positive thing to come out of such a terrible accident.
Johnny shows his real love for nature and nurture in a way that many others cannot and yet would love to be a part of. This is a beautifully written book and worthy of the praise that I am sure it will receive as it goes out into the general market. This is an animal story that will warm the heart of anyone who really loves wildlife and any that don't will have their hearts opened to a new way of looking at deer and their young.
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