It is exactly like Isaiah 11:6: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid . . . ” Written by National Geographic magazine writer Jennifer Holland, Unlikely Friendships documents one heartwarming tale after another of animals who, with nothing else in common, bond in the most unexpected ways. A cat and a bird. A mare and a fawn. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster. The well-documented stories of Koko the gorilla and All Ball the kitten; and the hippo Owen and the tortoise Mzee. And almost inexplicable stories of predators befriending prey—an Indian leopard slips into a village every night to sleep with a calf. A lionness mothers a baby oryx. Ms. Holland narrates the details and arc of each story, and also offers insights into why—how the young leopard, probably motherless, sought maternal comfort with the calf, and how a baby oryx inspired the same mothering instinct in the lionness. Or, in the story of Kizzy, a nervous retired Greyhound, and Murphy, a red tabby, how cats and dogs actually understand each other’s body language. With Murphy’s friendship and support, Kizzy recovered from life as a racing dog and became a confident, loyal family pet. These are the most amazing friendships between species, collected from around the world and documented in a selection of full-color candid photographs.

A new book from the New York Times bestselling series. Enhanced with beautiful full-color photographs, these true stories of camaraderie, affection, and remarkable bravery are from the author of the New York Times bestsellers Unlikely Friendships, Unlikely Loves, and Unlikely Heroes, as well as other books and calendars, with nearly two million copies in print. Meet Rex, a German shepherd who learned to love and trust again through the improbable friendship of a goose. The pit bull named Dolly, whose antics with her best friend, Sheldon the tortoise, include games of tag. For the millions of dog lovers, this heartwarming and inspirational book celebrates 37 stories of unusual canine companionship.

Can something as simple as friendship have a transformative impact in a divided world? Through a series of richly textured historical portraits and reflections on personal experience, this book shows that boundary-crossing friendships in Christian mission have shaped theologies, built organizations and partnerships, facilitated mission work, and changed attitudes and ways of thinking. This is true in settings as varied as eighteenth-century French women’s work, twentieth-century urban Boston, colonial India, the Jim Crow South, and twentieth-century rural Congo. In all these settings and more, friendship has mattered. Boundary-crossing friendships are, however, not easy. Despite their power, such friendships are complicated by race, gender, ability, class, nationality, and other elements of identity, as this book also demonstrates. Friendships are not immune from the divisions in the world, nor a simple cure-all for them. Still, friendship stands as a powerful testimony to the gospel. Therefore, the book calls for more attention to friendship in the study of mission history and more living out of friendship as a practice of mission. In this way, this book pays honor to Dr. Dana L. Robert as a pre-eminent mission scholar and exemplary friend and mentor to others in the fields of missiology and world Christianity.

A heart-warming celebration of love between species from the New York Times bestselling author of Unlikely Friendships. In her inspiring New York Times bestseller Unlikely Friendships, Jennifer Holland introduced us to the heartwarming relationships that exist between animals of different species. Her stories struck a chord with thousands of readers, including Temple Grandin, who described the book as "amazing." Now Holland explores animal attachments that, in human terms, can only be called love. Packed with beautiful, breathtaking full-color photographs, Unlikely Loves is a celebration of love between species. Here are stories of parental love, like the Dalmatian who mothers a newborn lamb—a lamb that just happens to be white with black spots! Stories of playful love, including the fox and the hound who become inseparable. And stories of orphaned animals who have found family-like ties in unexpected combinations, like the elephant who’s bonded with sea lions, goats, and other animals in her walks around the Oregon Zoo. Ms. Holland has interviewed scientists, zoologists, and animal caretakers from around the world, tracking down firsthand sources and eyewitnesses. The stories are written with journalistic integrity and detail—and always filled with the author’s deep affection for her subjects.

Good friends come in all shapes and sizes! Unlikely Friendships, the runaway New York Times bestseller with a compelling message of hope and friendship and differences overcome, is rewritten just for younger readers. This hardcover chapter book for children ages seven and up collects five heartwarming true stories of animal friendship: a hippo and the goat who is his best friend, an iguana that snuggles with a cat, a dog that takes care of a blind deer, a cat and orangutan who become friends, and a mother dog who cares for a tiny piglet. Chapter books give young readers a strong sense of accomplishment, and these heartwarming animal stories, with their incredible photographs and inexplicable mysteries of attraction, their focus on friendship, love, and the ways that creatures of all different species can find common bonds of affection, will keep kids turning the pages to find out about the unusual ways animals help each other and discover the love of new friends. Each is a perfect gift for young animal lovers, and a lovely subject to help kids get reading.

There are those individuals who have established deep, lasting relationships with others from very different backgrounds of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Research indicates that such friendships are a relatively rare phenomenon. While many study the reasons for this pattern, the research presented here focuses on the successes of the few: 'How have you broken down the social distance between you and bridged the social distance that separates you?' This monograph traces the process by which people overcome the differences between them, starting with an in-depth look at friendship and friendship patterns in our society, how these boundaries shape the friendships themselves, how opportunities to establish such friendships are structured, and the interpersonal techniques for managing social differences. The book concludes with a consideration of how such friendships can shape the future of society.

Learn about funny and fascinating animal friendships around the globe.

Rinaldi delves into the childhood friendship between Mary Todd Lincoln and black seamstress Elizabeth Keckley--two fascinating women who became devoted friends and confidantes amid the turbulent times of the Lincoln administration.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award winner! “What do you get when you cross a crusty alligator and a perky bird? A surprising friendship you’ll be sure to cheer for. Beak and Ally is a warm, funny winner!” —Terri Libenson, author of the New York Times bestselling Emmie & Friends series A brand-new early reader graphic novel series about finding friendship in unexpected places! This fun and funny buddy comedy is perfect for fans of Narwhal & Jelly, emerging readers, and all kids who love comics. Ally the alligator is perfectly happy being alone . . . until one day a noisy bird named Beak lands on her snout. Beak thinks Ally is lonely and needs a friend. He has all sorts of friendship goals in mind, like riding bikes together, going to the movies together, and even solving mysteries together! But when a Long-Billed Party Pooper crashes Beak’s nest-warming party, Ally decides to show Beak something important to her: sticking up for what’s right.

In her heartwarming New York Times bestsellers Unlikely Friendships and last year’s Unlikely Loves, Jennifer Holland revealed the surprising emotional bonds that exist between animals of different species. Her books spent dozens of weeks on bestseller lists and caught the attention of major media from CBS This Morning to USA Today. Why? Because she opened our eyes to the rich inner lives of animals, showing us that the power of love and friendship is not for humans only. In Unlikely Heroes, Ms. Holland uncovers and celebrates yet another side of animals that we often think belongs primarily to people—heroism, that indefinable quality of going above and beyond, often for altruistic reasons, often at great personal risk. These 37 inspiring true tales show animals whose quick acts have saved lives, like the pod of dolphins who protected swimmers in New Zealand from a great white shark by forming a screen around them. There are stories of animals who simply and unselfishly give, like Rojo the llama, who shines his very special light of lovingkindness on the elderly patients in an Oregon rehab center. And there are compelling stories of heroic resilience: like Naki’o, the abandoned puppy who lost all four paws to frostbite but found the grit not only to overcome that terrible hardship but to reclaim the joy of life—that’s him, smiling on the cover of the book.