Hippo is granted nine wishes. He has a serious identity issue. He worries that is very plain so he uses each wish to add the most preposterous embellishments to his appearance.
From Turtle he adds a shell; Lion has a beautiful mane; Giraffe has a lovely, long neck. Now add an elephant trunk. Are you picturing Hippo? Then he meets four more animals - a very diverse bunch. There is a crocodile, a hare, a kangaroo and an ibis. This leads to real trouble:
"My shell, mane, trunk, ears, legs, antlers and tail are nothing but trouble,' moaned Hippo. I don't want them anymore!"
Hold on go back and count the wishes. Hippo has one wish left. Be careful what you wish for ...
This is a funny book which is sure to give your preschool reading companion a good laugh which will last right to the twist on the last page. With a group in a preschool you could use this book as a springboard to talk about wishes, animal attributes, and perhaps even investigate why some animals have special features - Why does an elephant have a trunk? Why does a turtle need a shell? Hippo things he is so plain but is he really? Investigate all the special things about hippos. Here is a Pinterest collection of picture books featuring hippos.
Charles Santoso lives in Sydney. Late in 2020 Kinokuniya hosted an exhibition of the art from Happy Hippo. Here are some of his cover designs and one picture book:
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