Hippo Lemonade
Kindergarten-Grade 3 Four more stories about the hippo last seen in It's Me, Hippo! (Harper, 1983). This time, Hippo can't decide what to wish for, but having consulted all his friends, who suggest that he wish to look like them, he decides to wish to stay just as he is. He also engages in a lemonade price-war with his friend Snake, listens to a scary campfire story starring a slimy purple one-eyed monster and does a spot of cloud-picture gazing. There's more zip to these new Hippo stories, more genuine, if subtle, humor. Hippo's dilemmas aren't earthshaking, but his gently bumbling character is endearing, and some of his friends have real personality. The tone is a far cry from Thaler's slam-bang joke collections, and Hippo 's two-color ink and wash drawings, with their softly pudgy animals, are a world away from the author's own wild cartoons, but these creatures are perfectly in tune with Hippo 's low-key stories and add funny detail. Not a must, but not bad.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.