The Little Hippos' Adventure

This was nice little find. It's a simple story about three young hippos who have to go on an adventure to see what is at the top of tall cliff. Never mind the fact that the adults know more which they learn going through the scary jungle. In the end all works out. The story is simple and to some adults they may think it makes no sense. My girl likes it so for me that is all that matters. The art work is really good and I think that is what interests her. The little hippos are cute after all. She also found it funny that Mrs. Hippo knew carpentry. There is a crocodile but nothing scary. In fact children may find it funny when Mrs. Hippo scares it and runs it off.

Beautiful book to show to young children and get them excited about reading. I get many requests in class for this one.

What is it that makes this book irresistible? Maybe the lovely illustrations, which are so warm and inviting that the jungle rolls into your living room. Maybe the funny plot, which centers on three little hippos who long for an adventure but aren't quite ready for what comes along with it. But mostly, I think, the child-like heart of the story. These little hippos have big dreams--they want to jump off Tall Cliff--but are cheerfully oblivious to their own limitations. They can't remember what to be scared of in the jungle, they can't remember what to look out for on the way home, and even though they decide that Tall Cliff is really too tall to jump from, they are just as thrilled and proud to jump from a lower ledge. Perhaps most importantly, the lessons they learn go down easy and never seem to spoil their fun. This is a real charmer.

I don't have any children, but the cover caught my attention so I read the book. The story may be slightly confusing in places, but the illustrations are adorable. Everyone that I show it to loves it.

Because I did not have any books about hippos in my collection for our grandchildren, I ordered The Little Hippos Adventure. What a good choice that turned out to be! The first time I read it to Charlie, 3 1/2 years, he said, "Again" and then "Again" and "Again"until I was insistent we try a different story. His big brother,seven years, also became enamoured of this one and found he could read it himself. Since we now know this story so well, we have turned it into a puppet show. The boys helped create the scenery and pencil puppets. Charlie does jungle sounds on the drums. The characters are all hippos except for that bad crocodile which made it simple to convert to puppetry. We have all enjoyed this beautifully illustrated tale with a good lesson behind it.