PPBF: Hippospotamus

Author: Jeanne Willis
Illustrator: Tony Ross
Publisher: Andersen Press USA, 2012
Age Level: 5-7
Themes: imagination, animals, story in rhyme
Opening: Hippopotamus had a spotamus…on her bottomus.
Summary: (From the flap) “It’s a  blister!” said her sister. “It’s the measles!” said Weasel. “”It’s hippopox!” said Fox. But in the end the spotamus turns out to be something hilariously unexpected!

Why I like this book: I am just discovering the marvelously vibrant art of Tony Ross, so I put this title on hold at the biblioteca, but I fell in love with Jeanne Willis’ silly sense of humor and spot-on rhymes! How can you not love Weasel’s next line: “You sat in a breezle and caught a diseasel…” It goes on, but I don’t want to spoil the fun!
Resources/Activities: make a new party game: Pin the Spot on the Hippospotamus; make a list of a rhyming words for animals (fox/socks, cat/hat, etc.); play a game listing an animal for each letter of the alphabet.
For more PPBF picks, go to Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog – HERE