From the Publisher:
Serious silliness for all ages. Artist Sandra Boynton is back and better than ever with completely redrawn versions of her multi-million selling board books. These whimsical and hilarious books, featuring nontraditional texts and her famous animal characters, have been printed on thick board pages, and are sure to educate and entertain children of all ages.

Reading Jungle says:
Bright and charming illustrations will draw children’s attention while cherished animal characters are involved in a rhythmical and simple story intended to deliver giggling smiles and moral lessons. This tale begins as animals join together and do tasks and have fun with one another, but not the hippopotamus. This latter phrase is repeated throughout the book as the animal sadly watches the others having a good time. Then, the reluctant hippo is invited by the other animals to join them! With only a small amount of hesitation, the hippo is off to enter the circle of friends!

But Not the Hippopotamus could be interpreted different ways. We love the way the hippo can be seen as shy and in need of some encouragement to get involved. This lesson can teach children to be more bold in making friends and joining activities rather than sitting out and feeling sad. However, we are disappointed with the ending of the story. The last page shows a lonely armadillo instead of the hippo. As the hippo runs off, the reader is left feeling gloomy as the final line says “but not the armadillo”. Our concern is that children may interpret this book to mean that it is okay to leave others out who are different.

Overall, we do recommend this fun and silly book. However, we encourage readers to present their own explanation at the end of the story to make sure the desired message is getting across to all those little hippo ears!