Customer Reviews

The Little Hippos' Adventure

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"On the hippos' fine muddy riverbank, everything is the same as it always is..." The big hippos relax in the river, the little hippos dive, splash, and paddle around, and Mrs Hippopotamus makes seaweed pudding, "just as she always does." Everyday the little hippos ask to go to Tall Cliff to dive, and everyday they're told no, it's too dangerous. And then one day the answer is yes, and they hurry off before the old hippo changes his mind. But with all the excitement, the little hippos forget that the jungle can be a dangerous place, and are almost eaten by a crocodile. Fortunately, Mrs Hippopotamus arrives just in time to save the day and chases that nasty crocodile off. Early tne next morning she builds the little hippos a diving, sliding, vine-swinging platform of their own..... Lena Landstrom's sweet and simple little story has all the elements that should make it a winner, jungle animals, drama, comedy, and adventure, but she just doesn't deliver. Maybe it's the translation, but the plot is flat, uninspired, and worst of all unexciting. Readers plod along, turn the last page, and ask, "Is that it?" There just seems to be something missing. The book's real charm is in the lovely cartoon-like artwork, rendered in soft and subdued earth tones. Each page is filled with delightful and endearing characters, expressive, eye-catching detail, and engaging humor, and preschoolers will enjoy lingering over the entertaining pages. Unfortunately, word and art don't work well together. The Little Hippos' Adventure is a picture book that will probably only be read once. It's just too short on "adventure."

The Little Hippo's Adventure is an entertaining story by Lena Landstrom about three young and fun loving young hippos looking for adventure. They are anxious to jump from up high into the river below, anxious to trek through the jungle to the cliff, and anxious to jump from way up high on their dive platform in the river. Along the way they learn to watch out for each other and to listen to Mrs. Hippopotamus. They also learn what the real dangers are on the river. I think the illustrations are actually cuter than the story. Lots of fun for those little adventurers out there.

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.

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 was very excited about this book after reading reviews, but after reading it once or two times, it has stayed on the shelf. The book ended, and I couldn't help but think, "That's it?" Considering the book was translated, I wonder if that may be the reason for the somewhat bland language. Who knows, the Swedish version could be beautiful. Although the story is so-so, the illustrations are very colorful and attractive. My daughter and I wish a more lively story accompanied them.

The rave reviews by Amazon prompted me to order this book. I am, however, very disappointed in the story. Maybe something got lost in the translation of the story from Swedish because the plot is disjointed. I don't know how a toddler is supposed to make sense of it. The illustrations are wonderful and clearly the best part of the book.

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.