Karen's Heart

Book excerpt: This is the true story of Karen the orangutan's brave journey through history-making heart surgery and how she won the hearts of everyone around her at the San Diego Zoo. As a young orangutan, Karen had a life-threatening heart murmur caused by a hole in her heart. To save Karen's life, a surgery team from UC San Diego Medical Center performed open-heart surgery on her--the first time this had ever been done on an orangutan. Readers will be inspired by this heartwarming story that connects, engages, and builds empathy for our animal friends. Karen's Heart is part of the Hope & Inspiration Series from San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press. Get all the books in the series to be truly inspired! Winner of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Award for Young Reader Nonfiction.