Hippos Go Berserk [Board book]

Sandra Boynton (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Here is the classic Boynton counting story in a sturdy, board book version.

Perfect for travel time, bedtime, or PARTY TIME!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

How dull, to be one hippo all alone... until the one calls two other hippos on the phone. Soon three more hippos are at the door, bringing along another four. Before the night is through, a houseful of hippos (and one beast) has joined the one hippo for a boisterous bash.

All through the hippo night,
Hippos play with great delight.
But at the hippo break of day,
The hippos all must go away.

In clusters of nine, eight, seven, six, and so on, the hippos depart, finally leaving the one hippo "alone once more, [missing] the other forty-four."

The well-loved Sandra Boynton wrote this tribute to silliness in 1977, inspiring generations of the very young to learn to count. Lively, cute new illustrations complement this edition, with big numbers (one through nine, and nine through one) boldly placed on the corner of each page. The sturdy board book will withstand lots of eager counting fingers, and maybe even a berserk hippo or two. Boynton's familiar style can be seen in scads of other delightfully nonsensical titles, including Barnyard Dance! and Moo, Baa, La La La!. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

One of the silliest, most fun counting books around features "One hippo, all alone, calls two hippos on the phone," until a gang of 45 hippos assembles for a party.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Board book: 16 pages
• Publisher: Little Simon (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689834349
• ISBN-13: 978-0689834349
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( B ) > Boynton, Sandra
  • #9 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Mammals > Fiction
  • #20 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Mammals

More About the Author

Sandra Boynton is a popular American humorist, songwriter, children's author and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated more than forty books for both children and adults, as well as over four thousand greeting cards, and four music albums. Although she does not license her characters to be redrawn or adapted, she has herself designed???for various companies???calendars, wallpaper, bedding, stationery, paper goods, clothing, jewelry, and plush toys.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Board Book of Epic Proportion, May 23, 2005

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hippos Go Berserk (Board book)

The most entertaining "counting book," I've seen, Sandra Boynton pulls out all the stops (and all the hippos) in this hilariously inventive tale of a hippo happening. It all beings with one lonely hippo, who "calls two hippos on the phone. Three hippos at the door [then, next page] bring along another 4. Before long, "seven hippos arrive in a sack. Eight hippos sneak in the back. Nine hippos come to work. ALL THE HIPPOS GO BERSERK!" Berserk here, means 45 hippos (9 + * + & ... + 1) all in the initial hippo's house, tooting horns, tearing down a hippo portrait (drawn like Whistler's mother, if Whistler were a hippo), eating cake, and being served by those nine working hippos. When morning comes, the hippos leave, in as many different ways as they arrived: By "Greyhip" bus, wagon train (!), helicopter, and wheelbarrow.

We've come to expect Boynton's wonderfully whimsical, rounded style, but she adds several humorous details (e.g. a hippo dancing on the roof), and very cleverly associates the numbers with the hippos. Most counting books are very static, a number, say 5, and five of some item on that page. I suppose a more "advanced" presentation is that the numbers are related in some thematic way. However, Boynton doesn't limit herself to the one page per number formula; she writes a continuous story, in which new guests-the ones associated with that page's number--mingle with previous arrivals. She accomplishes this by distinguishing the new, number-relevant guests through their costumes or by color differences. This format may require more cognitively than simpler books, but Boynton's "Hippos GO Berserk" is so entertaining that it stands alone as pure entertainment; its value "counts" much more than the traditional style.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Hippo All Alone... a back and forth counting book, August 15, 2003

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hippos Go Berserk (Board book)

A wondrous counting book that tells of a lonely hippo who calls two others on the phone. Then larger and larger groups keep arriving (three though nine) until all 45 hippos and the beast (a guest of one of the groups) go berserk and party all through the hippo night. But at the hippo break of day, they all begin to go away (nine through two) until all that is left is the original one.

Most counting books only count in one direction. This fun book counts up and then back down again (although it doesn't use zero). It even makes mention of how many they add up to.

Typical Boynton illustrations add to the fun of this book.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As fun for the parents as for the kids!, January 27, 2001

By 

mirope "mirope" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Hippos Go Berserk! (Hardcover)

This is an absolutely hysterical book of rhyming verse. It's fun to read aloud, and a big hit with the kids. Boynton's drawings are great - as always. One special feature: this book counts backwards as well as forwards. An interesting twist on the usual counting book.