But Not the Hippopotamus

I love blue hare more

A must have book for toddlers where a shy hippo makes a big impact.

Great book! All of Boynton's books that we have are great (and we have a few of them). The text and the illustrations are great! My kids ask us to read them every evening! =)

This is our family's 3rd copy of this classic board book from Sandra Boynton...we literally read the others to death through our 5 (soon to be 6) children, so it was time to get a fresh copy. This adorable story is about a hippopotamus who watches life go by...everyone busy with social lives and activities that pointedly do not include her. Far be if from me to give a plot spoiler on this delightful 14 page board book, but it definitely leaves you with a tear jerking (ok..maybe it is only our 18 month old who fake cries and gives the character a sympathetic kiss?) ending that begs for a sequel. The illustrations are absolutely charming and the range of emotions this seemingly silly little rhyming store evokes is surprising! We always include this in our new baby gift baskets as it is a long time family favorite that the older kids never tire of reading to their siblings. **Odd note...somewhere along the line, the author changed a few words in this book and, for those of us who had completely memorized the original text, it was mildly annoying... lol She did the same thing with another one of our favorites The Going-To-Bed Book . For a million years I knew it forward and backward... then we ordered updated copies and I was tripping over my tongue to learn the new phrases. (Yes, ask my children...I am at least a million years old.)

My kids loved it, my grand nephew's love it, I loved reading it. Delightful illustrations.

Boynton's writing and illustrations make adults smile and little ones love her books. Truly uplifting ... my children remember me reading them to them and now we are reading them to their children. Very special.