That's Not a Hippopotamus!

July 15, 2016
When the hippo goes missing, the whole young class visiting Don's Safari takes up the search. Don, a white man with a pith helmet and a neat handlebar moustache, welcomes the diverse throng of children with an expansive gesture. One little white boy boldly declares that there's no hippopotamus; indeed, near the arrowed sign stating "See the amazing hippopotamus" there's just a set of big footprints. Don is frantic, and the determined children turn into a hunting party. They've got more energy than animal sense, mistaking the giraffe, the elephant, and even the snake for a hippopotamus. Davis' pictures capture these interactions hilariously. A little black girl with fabulously poofy hair dangles from the neck of the giraffe like a daredevil, and a brown-skinned girl gets all wrapped up by the snake (who later goes for the teacher, who is white). The entire class has just about given up when an enormous figure wearing an ill-fitting Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, and a tiny ugly hat creeps up behind them. It's little, brown-skinned Liam who tugs on the teacher's skirt to point out the big gray beast lurking behind. MacIver's bouncy, rhyming text betrays its antipodean origins with dropped H's aplenty: "I got 'im, Miss! I got 'im, Miss!" Davis' colorful illustrations match the text's energy and zaniness, doing a better job than many at capturing racial differences among the children. Buoyant fun for the very young. (Picture book. 3-5)

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August 3, 2016
This book begins with a class visit to a zoo. The children are told by the guide that they have every kind of animal, but the children quickly realise that there’s no hippopotamus. The guide rushes off to find the hippo, which seems to have disappeared. What follows is a chaotic and very entertaining hunt for the hippopotamus, with every child coming up with an animal, to be greeted with the shouted response ‘That’s not a hippopotamus!’ and the teacher looking increasingly frazzled. The hunt continues until the real hippo is finally found. The easy-to-read rhyming text carries the story with humour, providing rollicking fun for readers aged six years and up, but it’s Sarah Davis’ delightful, beautifully drawn illustrations of this multicultural class of energetic children that are so successful. A subplot featuring a small, quiet boy gaining in confidence is threaded throughout the book, and young readers will be delighted to find Davis has hidden the hippopotamus in the background of her pictures, giving them another way to engage with the story leading up to the final, triumphant sighting. It is also worth mentioning the format and production of the book, as New Zealand publisher Gecko Press has made it available as both a hardcover and a sturdy, well-produced paperback with cover flaps. Margaret Hamilton is a former children’s book publisher. She is now proprietor of Pinerolo, the Children’s Book Cottage in Blackheath, NSW