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Happy Hippo, Angry Duck
Bestselling author Sandra Boynton’s board book tackles the concept of moods with her charming, trademark sense of humor.
Clever animals exemplify a wide range of emotions in this hilarious story about different feelings. Young readers are sure to giggle as interactive text asks them if they are grumpy as a moose or excited as a dog? Maybe they're worried as a rabbit or contented as a frog?
Are you HAPPY AS A HIPPO?
Or ANGRY AS A DUCK?
Maybe SAD AS A CHICKEN?
(Can you sadly say “CLUCK CLUCK”?)
Clever animals exemplify a wide range of emotions in this hilarious story about different feelings. Young readers are sure to giggle as interactive text asks them if they are grumpy as a moose or excited as a dog? Maybe they're worried as a rabbit or contented as a frog?
Are you HAPPY AS A HIPPO?
Or ANGRY AS A DUCK?
Maybe SAD AS A CHICKEN?
(Can you sadly say “CLUCK CLUCK”?)
16 pages, Board Book
First published May 24, 2011
About the author
Sandra Boynton
163 books1,164 followersSandra Keith Boynton is an American humorist, songwriter, director, music producer, children's author, and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated over eighty-five books for children and seven general audience books, as well as over four thousand greeting cards, and seven music albums. She has also designed calendars, wallpaper, bedding, stationery, paper goods, clothing, jewelry, and plush toys for various companies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
October 17, 2020
Don't be fooled by this being a board book. This is a great book for grown people.
No matter your emotions, you're accepted, and friends are there for you.
No matter your emotions, you're accepted, and friends are there for you.
March 13, 2012
Read this at Powell's the other day- it was, like most Boynton board books, charming and adorable and fun. Boynton board books are so charming, in fact, that they make me think that I'd like to work somewhere I could read them to toddlers all day long. That's how good this book is. But then I woke up and put the book back on the shelf, backed away until I was a safe distance, turned on my heel and ran like hell.
June 8, 2024
Most books I read try to teach me how to think: how to think about colors; how to think about letters; how to think about trucks; etc. Boynton cuts across the grain with this one, and teaches me how to feel.
October 24, 2022
Most adults could learn how to filter emotions from this book. 10/10
August 9, 2023
A great way to introduce emotions to little ones. It also helps keep them in perspective.
September 10, 2013
A funny story about a lot of different feelings. It teaches your little one that it's okay to be mad or sad or happy or silly. Lots of new words and fun pictures. A great book to read aloud as you can make lots of funny voices and actions.
June 7, 2026
This might be my favourite Sandra Boynton to date! It’s goofy and fun while also teaching about emotions!😃 🦛 😡 🦆
December 31, 2017
Good illustrations and art combine with a good, simple story appropriately pitched for the age group to produce a book as engaging as it is a little deeper than a typical, surface kids book could be. The use of different words to describe and animals to have the different emotions works well, and there is something for older readers to takeaway too, that to have different feelings is ok (and extending far beyond the book’s scope or even intended point, that having friends around, especially closer friends, to share positive and non-positive feelings is good and being long-term isolated is generally not good).
October 4, 2021
A great book about how all feelings are ok and the importance of friends! Wonderful message.
November 7, 2025
A bit contrived
January 13, 2025
Oh, that duck.
February 8, 2015
This is a cartoon type book that talks to the reader the whole time. It gives examples of different moods and associates animals with the mood that they are describing. The moods progress as the narrator asks how the reader feels until it gets to the mood happy, but the narrator informs the reader that it is okay to feel how ever you feel because it will pass and a new mood will come.
The text is very simple in this book as it is mostly asking the reader questions which allows the reader time to think, but also supplies a fun filled answer that relates to an animal. This author of this book uses a lot of different moods, because that is what the story is about, but throughout the book there is a certain excitement because of the text. How the excitement and energy is kept up in the text is through the rhyming and the unexpected animal emotions that are expressed.
The illustrations do a wonderful job at keeping up the mood of the book by using whimsical colors and drawings. The best part of the illustrations are the detailed facial expressions the the animals have. The reason this is appealing to me is because if the reader can't actually read the words they are able to get an idea of what the book is about just by looking at the pictures and understanding what the mood of the characters might be.
This book is such an enjoyable book and after reading it multiple times and having the chance to really analyze the pictures I can understand why this is my little sisters ultimate book, because it makes her laugh and goves her and understanding on how she might feel. With that this book is able to lead her into a direction of being able to explain how she feels and that it won't last forever.
The text is very simple in this book as it is mostly asking the reader questions which allows the reader time to think, but also supplies a fun filled answer that relates to an animal. This author of this book uses a lot of different moods, because that is what the story is about, but throughout the book there is a certain excitement because of the text. How the excitement and energy is kept up in the text is through the rhyming and the unexpected animal emotions that are expressed.
The illustrations do a wonderful job at keeping up the mood of the book by using whimsical colors and drawings. The best part of the illustrations are the detailed facial expressions the the animals have. The reason this is appealing to me is because if the reader can't actually read the words they are able to get an idea of what the book is about just by looking at the pictures and understanding what the mood of the characters might be.
This book is such an enjoyable book and after reading it multiple times and having the chance to really analyze the pictures I can understand why this is my little sisters ultimate book, because it makes her laugh and goves her and understanding on how she might feel. With that this book is able to lead her into a direction of being able to explain how she feels and that it won't last forever.
March 14, 2013
Happy Hippo, Angry Duck: a book of Moods by Sandra Boynton is a humorous boardbook look at emotions and moods.
Boynton's illustrations feature her slightly silly animals portraying different moods that animals or peopple may adopt. Hippo, duck, chicken, moose, duck, rabbit, frog, pig, cow, dog, and "thing" are shown in different moods. My favorite images are hippo, duck, moose, frog, cow, frazzled, and group.
In a straight forward manner, a animal narrator asks young readers about their moods. After running through a variety of moods, the points are made that friends can help you when you're in a particular moood, you're loved no matter what mood you are in, and some people are just always in a certain, sometimes bad, mood.
I really like the interactive way that readers are talked to in this book. Moods mentioned are happy, angry, sad, grumpy, excited, worried, contented, amused, confused, and frazzled. Phrases like angry as a duck or excited as a dog add some humor in addition to the silly animal expressions. I would have preferred to have this in a larger format to better enjoy the animal illustrations.
For ages 2.5 to 5, emotions, moods, humor, board book, read-aloud, and fans of Sandra Boynton.
Boynton's illustrations feature her slightly silly animals portraying different moods that animals or peopple may adopt. Hippo, duck, chicken, moose, duck, rabbit, frog, pig, cow, dog, and "thing" are shown in different moods. My favorite images are hippo, duck, moose, frog, cow, frazzled, and group.
In a straight forward manner, a animal narrator asks young readers about their moods. After running through a variety of moods, the points are made that friends can help you when you're in a particular moood, you're loved no matter what mood you are in, and some people are just always in a certain, sometimes bad, mood.
I really like the interactive way that readers are talked to in this book. Moods mentioned are happy, angry, sad, grumpy, excited, worried, contented, amused, confused, and frazzled. Phrases like angry as a duck or excited as a dog add some humor in addition to the silly animal expressions. I would have preferred to have this in a larger format to better enjoy the animal illustrations.
For ages 2.5 to 5, emotions, moods, humor, board book, read-aloud, and fans of Sandra Boynton.
January 19, 2014
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Could there ever be a Boynton book I do not love to pieces? I highly doubt it. And this book continues my great love of her work. What a fabulous book on moods! Simple yet hilarious. The illustrations convey so well. And the message near the end is something I still need to be reassured of. If there were a larger format, this book would be very fun in a toddler storytime, too.
I think, being my unfortunately and uncontrollably moody self, my mother (great saint who has always patiently endured my moods) would highly enjoy my recommendation of this book. The only sad thing is there are no lambs in it. But perhaps Mom would prefer a non-moody lamb.
My favorites: the frog, the cow, and the thing. The fizz-less dog would be next.
12/2/13: Tried in movement storytime and it went well. Some of the crowd are Boynton fans, so they loved it. I had them show the emotions on their faces with me. It went well. And this crowd doesn't care that it had nothing to do with Christmas.
I think, being my unfortunately and uncontrollably moody self, my mother (great saint who has always patiently endured my moods) would highly enjoy my recommendation of this book. The only sad thing is there are no lambs in it. But perhaps Mom would prefer a non-moody lamb.
My favorites: the frog, the cow, and the thing. The fizz-less dog would be next.
12/2/13: Tried in movement storytime and it went well. Some of the crowd are Boynton fans, so they loved it. I had them show the emotions on their faces with me. It went well. And this crowd doesn't care that it had nothing to do with Christmas.
February 10, 2017
We have a book for every occasion.
December 29, 2016
It's no "Barnyard Dance" but it's still a cute Boynton book. And this book actually did open up some discussion of moods with my toddler, who was especially interested in showing me which animals were mad and sad.
ETA December 2016: I just finished reading this book with my daughter, who coincidentally is about the same age as my son was when he and I read this book. She picked it out at the library herself, as did he three years ago. So, clearly this book is appealing to just-turned-two-year-olds. Interestingly, my daughter had zero interest in talking about the emotions of the characters. She was much more interested in animal identification.
ETA December 2016: I just finished reading this book with my daughter, who coincidentally is about the same age as my son was when he and I read this book. She picked it out at the library herself, as did he three years ago. So, clearly this book is appealing to just-turned-two-year-olds. Interestingly, my daughter had zero interest in talking about the emotions of the characters. She was much more interested in animal identification.
June 16, 2015
People go through many moods. They come and go, and you can usually find a good one, like the animals in this book do (except for that duck).
This is another brilliant Sandra Boynton board book. It seems like emotions and moods aren't usually something that's addressed in books for tiny readers, but this does it in such a way that it's true and relatable (and interactive), not only for little ones, but for their parents too. Some of the emotion/animal pairings are a little bit of a stretch, but who cares? I laughed out loud a couple of times while reading this one to The Boy.
This is another brilliant Sandra Boynton board book. It seems like emotions and moods aren't usually something that's addressed in books for tiny readers, but this does it in such a way that it's true and relatable (and interactive), not only for little ones, but for their parents too. Some of the emotion/animal pairings are a little bit of a stretch, but who cares? I laughed out loud a couple of times while reading this one to The Boy.
January 27, 2015
Just got this book yesterday. We have 6 Boynton books, and I think this is my favorite.
Ingredients: Classic Boynton characters and illustrations, catchy rhymes, humor, and a good lesson (Its okay to have all sorts of moods, bad moods are temporary, your friends are here for you). Some of the Boyton books teach something but are more silly than educational. Others are not fun to read (A to Z and Doggies come to mind. I am so sick of reading Doggies... My daughter loves it though). This one is definitely a winner.
Five stars.
Ingredients: Classic Boynton characters and illustrations, catchy rhymes, humor, and a good lesson (Its okay to have all sorts of moods, bad moods are temporary, your friends are here for you). Some of the Boyton books teach something but are more silly than educational. Others are not fun to read (A to Z and Doggies come to mind. I am so sick of reading Doggies... My daughter loves it though). This one is definitely a winner.
Five stars.
June 26, 2013
Another typical Boynton. Beautiful, cute, illustrations, but not deep enough content to keep my children really engaged. They did like the angry duck in this one and how he kept popping up. They also liked to make the different faces, but some of them, like the "sweetly amused pig" or the "contented frog" were a bit over their heads to really understand. Still, a Boynton is not without merit.
July 2, 2014
This is a good addition to our Sandra Boynton collection, but it's not her best work. It just doesn't have the same catchiness and personality of her other books, like But Not The Hippopotamus and Blue Hat, Green Hat.
December 19, 2014
I love the message this book delivers; we all have bad days, but don't worry, they won't last forever, and you are always loved.
December 27, 2014
Silly, silly, silly...
Another great book from this super silly author. Entertained both my 4 year old and 22 month old, fun read!
Another great book from this super silly author. Entertained both my 4 year old and 22 month old, fun read!
August 4, 2015
I am that duck.
February 5, 2018
This has got to be my favourite of Arlo’s books so far. Perhaps like a pig I am sweetly amused🐷
May 17, 2022
2022
2021
Gift from Harper's grandmother
Cute story about managing your emotions
2021
Gift from Harper's grandmother
Cute story about managing your emotions
March 31, 2016
Not my favorite Boynton but my little one enjoyed it.
September 21, 2019
How do you feel today? Happy Hippo, Angry Duck tackles emotions someone might feel throughout the day. The characters in the story talk directly to the reader and acknowledge their existence. Each animal in the book represents a new feeling and is illustrated feeling that way. It is important to learn about different feelings and that you might feel one on one day, but differently on another. Children who are going into a classroom need to gain an understanding that everyone feels a different way and expresses their emotions. At the end of this story, the characters talk to the reader and let them know that if you are not happy, there will be friends around you to cheer you up. This book is great for students who are learning to read on their own. I would suggest a reader in preschool or kindergarten.
April 18, 2023
This short book does a great job at helping label emotions. This book asks how the reader is doing today and then proceeds to show different emotions expressed with emotions. Some examples are a happy hippo, a worried rabbit, and a completely confused cow. At the end of the book, the message is that there are friends to help and that your mood changes daily, even hourly. This is a great book to read to children who are still figuring out how to regulate their emotions. This would be a great book to complete an interactive read aloud with. It has many options to get the students involved. It says "maybe sad as a chicken? (Can you sadly say "click cluck"?) This is a great opportunity to let the children speak and get out the wiggles. You could also keep the students engaged by reading the emotions in different voices and tones.
July 9, 2025
We found the best Sandra Boynton book! After 9 months of trying, we finished one Mavis and I both enjoyed. It’s about emotions, and the one I feel right now is joy. It’s an honest look at the feelings she might feel growing up and how it’s okay to be that way. Absolutely a gem of a board book to read over and over.
Moral: You are entitled to feel how you feel.
Length: It’s Boynton in a board, so it’s brief.
Favorite Line: “Are you grumpy as a moose?”
Overall Impression: When Mavis is excited as a dog to read a Boynton book, I’m typically sad as a chicken. But in this instance, I was contented as a frog because it’s not outrageously silly, it doesn’t feature Pookie, and it actually has a point that comes together in a coherent ending. Yep, I’m giving this one 5 stars.
Moral: You are entitled to feel how you feel.
Length: It’s Boynton in a board, so it’s brief.
Favorite Line: “Are you grumpy as a moose?”
Overall Impression: When Mavis is excited as a dog to read a Boynton book, I’m typically sad as a chicken. But in this instance, I was contented as a frog because it’s not outrageously silly, it doesn’t feature Pookie, and it actually has a point that comes together in a coherent ending. Yep, I’m giving this one 5 stars.
August 8, 2024
Jack borrowed this book from the Oxford Public Library. We were so excited to find a bunch of new Sandra Boynton books here!
He sat on my lap and read lots of books before bed, including this one. He enjoyed all the animals and my voice changes to match their moods. I liked Boynton’s clever rhyming and the wide range of emotions the book covers, some of which I hadn’t seen in other mood books. I also loved her little aside at the end about the duck. She often does those lines, and I like how it feels like she’s being very “real” with the kids, kind of letting them in on a little secret or breaking the fourth wall in a good way.
He sat on my lap and read lots of books before bed, including this one. He enjoyed all the animals and my voice changes to match their moods. I liked Boynton’s clever rhyming and the wide range of emotions the book covers, some of which I hadn’t seen in other mood books. I also loved her little aside at the end about the duck. She often does those lines, and I like how it feels like she’s being very “real” with the kids, kind of letting them in on a little secret or breaking the fourth wall in a good way.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews