Friday, December 28, 2012

Hippospotamus by Jeanne Willis - NO


Willis, Jeanne Hippospotamus, PICTURE BOOK. Anderson Press USA, 2012. $16.95. Content: G. 

Hippopotamus has a spot on his rump and he can’t figure out what it is or how to get rid of it.  All of the animals in the jungle try to contribute to cure his pesky spot.  In the end, the spot turns out to be a piece of bubble gum. 

I opened this book expecting a really fun and creative story.  I was disappointed at the strange rhyming attempts. So many things had to rhyme with hippopotamus and the story wasn’t quite organized into a solid enough pattern, so it got a little old. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the illustrations because they seemed somewhat rushed.  There was an attempt at a surprise ending with the bubble gum. I realize it’s just a picture book, but the idea of a boy eating gum from the bum of a hippo wasn’t as humorous as I think it was intended to be. 

NOT RECOMMENDED. Reviewed by: Shay, Library Media Specialist

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