Jane Goodall demands respect. Even as a young woman on the American lecture circuit, there was a sense of quiet dignity about her — until she broke into a loud demonstration of the “pant-hoot.”

At first glance, Patrick McDonnell has made some surprising choices in this picture book biography: the “cheeky” title (Roger’s word), the near-total concentration on Goodall’s childhood, the sudden switch from illustration to a photograph of grown-up Jane on the last spread of the narrative.