Hippo

A charming storybook that’s a coloring book too!

Hippo is a children’s book by Robert Raphael, and it’s guaranteed to engage children and grown-ups alike. It’s a delight!

The cover is colorful but the pages inside are black and white which makes them perfect for coloring! The lack of color doesn’t distract from the pictures or the story at all and it gives children the opportunity to color them as their imagination sees fit.

Fans of Moo Deng, the internet celebrity pygmy hippo will love this.

Raphael is an artist and a retired professor of art and art history. His pictures are simple, precise and cute – just right for little ones. There’s something a little old-fashioned about Hippo that makes it endearing. I think kids will respond to it and marvel at things like a telephone booth and long-distance phone calls!

Hippo’s story and lesson is familiar (yet oh so hard to live by): He gets all worked up over a misconception, tries all sorts of things to remedy it and in the end (spoiler alert!) he realizes he’s just fine the way he is.

Hippo would be a fun addition to any child’s bookshelf and coloring table.