FICTION

Hello, Hippo! Goodbye, Bird!

by Kristyn CROW
Hello, Hippo! Goodbye, Bird! illus. by Poly Bernatene. 32p. ebook available. Knopf. Apr. 2016. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9780553509908; lib. ed. $16.95. ISBN 9780553509915.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1—Hippo is annoyed by a bird that will not leave him alone, but an encounter with some bees and a frightening thunderstorm show Hippo that Bird may be just the friend he needs. Alternating perspectives give the pencil and digitally colored illustrations action and movement. The view is high on the page with Bird and then moves closer to the ground with Hippo. Small vignettes, sometimes several on a page, show time passing. A full-bleed spread depicts the dramatic turning point for Hippo. The endpapers, with Hippo's footprints surrounded on all sides by bird marks, foreshadow both Hippo's anxiety at Bird's pushiness and the ultimate conclusion that they are better off together.
VERDICT This humorous tale of two unlikely companions is an entertaining discussion starter for children about how (and how not) to make friends.
Reviewed by Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
Even though Bird makes a great umbrella, keeps Hippo "bug-free," and tells jokes ("I'm a hippopota-mustache"), Hippo repeatedly shoos Bird away. The nod toward symbiosis gets lost in the predictable reluctant-friends plot, and Hippo and Bird's reconciliation comes too suddenly to feel authentic. However, energetic mixed-media illustrations shift color to reflect Hippo's mood and expand on the limited dialogue-based narrative.
 , Feb 01, 2016

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