The Happy Hippopotami

by Bill Martin Jr., Betsy Everitt

Climb aboard the picnic buses for a happy hippoholiday! This lively rhyming story of a seaside romp where hippopotamamas, papas, sons, and daughters are soaking up the sun, strolling along the boardwalk, and dancing around the maypole makes a perfect read-aloud. “Seeming to spill off the pages with their jollity, Everitt’s spirited illustrations are sure to endear these playful creatures to kids--who will have as much fun as the hippos do.”-- Publishers Weekly

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Summer, Poetry, Fiction, Animals, Humor

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004) was an elementary-school principal, teacher, writer, and poet. His more than 300 books, among them the bestselling classics Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See ; Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear ; Panda Bear Panda Bear What Do You See ; and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom , are a testament to his ability to speak directly to children. Martin held a doctoral degree in early childhood education. Born in Kansas, he worked as an elementary-school principal in Chicago before moving to New York City, where he worked in publishing, developing innovative reading programs for schools. After several years, he devoted himself full-time to writing his children's books. He lived in New York until 1993, when he moved to Texas. He lived in the east Texas woods, near the town of Commerce, until he passed away in 2004.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/billma...

Reviews

[A Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked up this silly book from our local library because it takes place during the month of May. The "hippopotamuses" take buses to the beach for a picnic and a day full of fun. Readers follow the hippos as different groups participate in different activities, for example the "hippopotadaughters" go diving and the "happy hippopatapreachers call the hippos to the bleachers for a ton of appreciation and another ton of inspiration." Tongue twisters galore. Perfect for certain kids, but not my personal favorite. A book that I would get sick of reading quickly and might hide before the month of May ends.

[Michelle Gallegos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a cute and colorful story. This is the story of hippo family reunion going to the beach in the summer. This book is great for early readers, with repetition and illustrations, students cane use this book to learn to read on their own. I know students will have fun reading this story and looking at the illustrations that are very bright and colorful making it exciting for children.

[Sydney Huntington-Strohm · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book involves Hippopatamous that are very happy doing wonderful things. The book is telling you to do what you enjoy the most to make your world better. It can all come from doing that with people you love.

[Kate Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was cute and I liked all the fun colorful illustrations. I liked how there was alot of play on words throughout the book, I think it would be a good read for a group of children they would enjoy it.

[Abbie Kane]

I thought that this was such a fun read I loved the pictures, they really made the book feel as though it was real. I loved how they turned holidays into something that an animal may do in their life too.

[Sean Harding · Rating 2 out of 5]

Martin Quest #33
Anthropomorphic tale of various hippopotami and their shenanigans at the beach etc.
Well young kids may be enamoured by the silliness of it, and enjoy seeing the pictures of the animals doing daft things.
Not a great book though.

[Kyrstin Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this a 0 star rating, I would. What. Even?

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute rhymes and funny premise.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this for the illustrations and play on words/rhyming. Very cute book.

[Jordan Devine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really cute book. I loved how it was all hippo and then added something at the end. The illustration was great and it’s a really cute book

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The book hap fun language, adorable pictures, and was just a fun read. This would be a good book to read when introducing new language, or teaching about creative writing.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

A group of hippos take a day trip to the beach where they engage in various activities.

The text makes creative and whimsical use of the prefix hippopota-.

[Laura Gabica]

The Happy Hippopotami by Bill Martin Jr. is about a family of hippopotami who have a family reunion at a beach. The book lists off which beach picnic activities each family member does. This was a cute idea and it helps children to learn these new words, because of the repetition and the way that it lists off each activity. The book uses alliteration and rhyming throughout it, which adds to the rhythm of the story. A lot of the time, writing with alliteration is a helpful tool for young readers to be able to read through the story. It makes the story follow an easier path for them, and makes the book for engaging for them to read. The illustrations were also very bright and colorful, which can help young readers to enjoy reading it more, because the pictures make the book more interesting and exciting to their eyes.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Happy Hippopotami by Bill Martin Jr. is about a family of hippos going to the beach for a picnic. They have numerous misadventures over the course of the day, all of which is set to rhyme.

The illustrations aren't done by Eric Carle. Without his collages it just doesn't seem like a Bill Martin Jr. book. I realize that's a silly way to think but the two work so well together.

The book is meant to be read aloud but the forced rhymes tripped me up in a bunch of places. If you plan to read this book to a group of children, I recommend practicing a few times before doing it live.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. This is fun to read aloud. The best way to describe is that it "went all over." It really does. It makes me laugh to see the forced rhymes. I think preschoolers would get some of it, but maybe a bit would be a stretch. While it's a little short for the k-5 group, they might not mind because of the hilarity with the text. I'll have to keep this in mind.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

An amusing book, but this was sent home for my beginning reader to read himself ... not a good plan, as the oblique (forced) rhyme is created in some places using deliberately misspelt words, which makes sounding out the words and identifying phonemes difficult. Good to read aloud to beginning readers, but definitely not a good read-alone book for them.

[Edward Creter · Rating 4 out of 5]

For all you guys at GR hip deep in hippo lore, this book suggestion is for you! Hippo families are represented in lovable drawings and clever rhymings. The hippos are so cute and endearing I find it hard to believe that author Bill Martin Jr. (no relation to the Yankees manager, a dirty hippo himself) has died. Thanks, Bill, for the lovableness of your hippos!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a list of things to do, no real story line. The pictures were busy, loud, and crowded.

Edited 5/30/2018
I liked this one better the second time around. Still no real story line, but the rhymes caught my attention this time and I think this book, with the right reader, could be fun as a read aloud. Bumping from 2 stars to 3.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

10/3/2016 ** I've read so many books about pumpkins and apples, that on a whim I decided to read something about summer vacation as a last fall fling. My kindergarteners have thoroughly enjoyed finding rhyming words and noticing interesting things in the illustrations.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures aren't very appealing, but it's cute and has good meter.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute poetry and tongue twisters.

[Sung Baick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyming book about different hippo family members. Great to use for any rhyming lessons or even a unit on family.

[Jessica Vandewarker]

slight rhyme, have to think of how it rhymes.

[Kim]

Features: rhyme, alliteration, the letter H, consonant blends, ending sounds

[Mariah Roze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute! I would love to read this to my future students!

[Kaylynn Johnsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun poem book, with fun pictures.

[Kathi-Ann Busha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very cute book. It can get a bit annoying when every other word is made to have "hippopotamus" but cute nonetheless.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice tongue-twisting tale of silly hippos. This one will take practice to read aloud well.