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Every once in a while we become so enamored with a picture book that we have to sit tight for a while to keep from injuring or annoying others with our enthusiasm. Lena Landstr�m's The Little Hippos' Adventure is one such book. It's not surprising, really. We felt that way about Boo and Baa in the Woods, too, an equally endearing book created by masters of understatement Lena and Olof La... More

Every once in a while we become so enamored with a picture book that we have to sit tight for a while to keep from injuring or annoying others with our enthusiasm. Lena Landstr�m's The Little Hippos' Adventure is one such book. It's not surprising, really. We felt that way about Boo and Baa in the Woods, too, an equally endearing book created by masters of understatement Lena and Olof Landstr�m.

It all starts on a normal day on the hippos' fine muddy riverbank, as we view an aerial shot of hippos in the water, looking much like bobbing corks in Landstr�m's winning illustrations. As we zoom in, we can see them relaxing, or splashing, tumbling, or paddling... with one exception: "Mrs. Hippopotamus, who lives nearby, is making seaweed pudding--just as she always does." And, as they always do, the little hippos ask if they can go dive off the Tall Cliff. Today, inexplicably, they get to go. It is a miracle! Of course, in their joy and excitement about diving off the Tall Cliff, they forget about the dangers of the jungle and how they are supposed to be careful. When the hungry hippos finish diving and swim back home upriver, they have a close call with a hungry crocodile!

Luckily, Mrs. Hippopotamus is at the right place at the right time, yells at the crocodile and scares it away. In our favorite, impossibly sweet scene, the scared hippos learn how dangerous these reptiles can be. "But they also learn that crocodiles can be funny." The three, cozy in a blanket, are laughing their heads off as Mrs. Hippopotamus reads to them from a book about a crocodiles. The next day, Mrs. H promises to help them build their new diving board as the little hippos reminisce about their day at the Tall Cliff. Sure, the story is simple. But it's as perfectly satisfying as a bedtime story gets, and Landstr�m's winsome illustrations will charm the socks off anyone, just as she always does. (Ages 2 to 6) --Karin Snelson

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