Customer Reviews

The Happiest Hippo in the World

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Danielle Steele is known as a writer of adult (as in grown up) fiction/romance. In this story for children, she delves into being different and celebrating differences.

When Mama hippo announces she is having a baby, the entire circus is happy! The zebras, the elephants and especially the clowns!

The entire circus is shocked when the baby hippo is born--he is a shiny emerald green. As the book states there are many things that are green, but not baby hippos! He is named Greenie. His brothers and sisters think his color is funny, but the rest of the circus is not so accepting.

Greenie takes off for New York City where he finds himself on a playground. He big and green and too heavy for the seesaw, too big for the swing. He meets a boy named Charlie. Will they be friends? Charlie does befriend Greenie and together they find a way to play on the seesaw, to become friends and celebrate their differences.

The illustrations by Margaret Spengler are absolutely wonderful. You'll fall in love with Greenie! The story is good, but I think Steele tries to do to pack too much into the story for the four year old and it might be too childish for the eight year old. The lessons she tries to convey about being different and celebrating the differences is a good one. The book has many good points that provide a lot of points for solid discussions about being different, about wanting to be accepted, and about how to be a friend.

All this book celebrates is racism and size-ism. The main character is ostracized for his color and size by everyone -everyone - but one boy who notices his differences but likes him anyway. Besides this offensiveness, it isn't a very good piece of literature. Very disappointing story.