Pygmy Hippo (Young Zoologist): A First Field Guide to Moo Deng and Friends

by Dr. Fiona Sach, Vicky Armstrong (editor), Fiona Sach

An illustrated first field guide to the adorable pygmy hippo from expert Dr. Fiona Sach, featuring illustrations by Lisa Maria.

You might not be able to get enough of Moo Deng and her sassy antics, but there’s so much more to learn about these elusive creatures. Discover why the pygmy hippo’s skin is always shiny, the surprising aquatic mammals that they’re closely related to, and how their unusual toilet habits help support the ecosystem. You’ll also discover the threats they face in their natural habitat and how you can help. Filled with simple science and plenty of animal facts, it’s a must for all pygmy hippo fans!

Pygmy Hippo (Young Zoologist) is part of an exciting series of collectable animal books from Neon Squid aiming to inspire the next generation of biologists and conservationists.

Genres: Picture Books, Science, Nonfiction, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

Published April 29, 2025

Reviews

[deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I genuinely learned so much about pygmy hippos from this, plus I now know about the pygmy jerboa and am simply fascinated by them. 5/5, everyone say, "We love you, Moo Deng". ♥

[Allison Haehnel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative book about the endangered Pygmy hippo. Filled with details about the Pygmy hippo, its environment, social structures, appetite, threats to their habitat, life cycle, and specific characteristics. Also provided are animal relatives and what an explorer would need to study Pygmy hippos in the wild. Each set of pages has a heading with a short paragraph to preload information for the reader. Having the informative paragraph on the right hand page was confusing and unnatural at first. Great book for elementary library. Ideal for teaching nonfiction text features like heading, index, glossary, illustrations, and table of contents.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

With lots of facts and information on the pygmy hippo, this book has a lot of interesting bits about pygmy hippos. Facts such as where they live, why they're endangered, how these cute creatures change the ecosystem with their poop, and how fast they can run. Learn more about this cute creature and meet the star that made them famous, Moo Deng, a pygmy hippo in Thailand.

Sticking Moo Deng's name into the title was really smart. I'm sure more little hands will pick this book up because of it, which is all the more better to spread more knowledge on this "little" hippo. This is a really cute series, I'm looking forward to reading others in it.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series. I found the elephant one at a thrift store and when I found the pygmy hippo book at the library, I grabbed it. I like the format of this non-fiction book. It is kid friendly and makes you feel like you could go out and look for one. It has a great table of content! I want to purchase this series for my school library.

Even though the illustrations were fantastic, I wish they also had some photos, even if it were at the end.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

An introduction to pygmy hippos, where they live in the wild, their characteristics, their role in their environment, threats they face in the wild, and a chance to meet one (Moo Deng) who became a social media star.

This was attractively laid out and illustrated, and had a good balance in the amount of information for the target reading group and how it was presented. Our students will be thrilled to see Moo Deng in a book (many have seen her in person).