How Hippo Says Hello!

by Abigail Samoun, Sarah Watts (Illustrator)

Overview

Bonjour, konnichiwa, hola, HELLO! Friendly Hippo takes a trip around the world to seven different countries, and everywhere he goes, he cheerily greets people in their native language. Kids will have fun trying out these simple foreign words, from “namaste” (India) to “privyet” (Russia).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454908203
Publisher:	Sterling Children's Books
Publication date:	02/04/2014
Series:	Little Traveler Series
Pages:	22
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD350L (what's this?)
Age Range:	2 - 4 Years

About the Author

Abigail Samoun has worked in children's publishing for over a dozen years, and has edited books that received the CCBC Charlotte Zolotow award, SCBWI Golden Kite award, Pura Belpre Honor, Smithsonian Notable, and NYPL Ezra Jack Keats award. She also edited the middle-grade series Edgar & Ellen, which sold over a half-million copies worldwide in 12 languages and inspired a cartoon series on Nickelodeon. In 2011, she cofounded Red Fox Literary, a children's book agency representing authors and illustrators, with agent extraordinaire Karen Grencik. Her novelty book What's in Your Purse?, illustrated by Nathalie Dion, will be published in spring 2014 by Chronicle. Abigail lives in Sonoma, CA, with her husband and son, two dogs, and a roving band of chickens. Visit redfoxliterary.com.

Sarah Watts went to Ringling College of Art and Design where she studied with many great instructors. She then worked at Carter's for two years, designing images and patterns for baby clothes, and then at International Greetings for a year creating patterns for stationery, gift bags, and other giftables. Sarah then started a career as an independent illustrator, and her clients include Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Amazon Children's Publishing, Random House UK, and Penguin Books UK. She lives in Atlanta, GA.

Editorial Reviews

03/01/2014
A jet-setting gator and hippo visit seven different countries and teach readers how to say hello and goodbye in various languages ("He says 'Bonjour! in France….He says 'Konichiwa' in Japan.") Accompanying each new word is a simple phonetic spelling. Librarians who sing hello and goodbye songs in storytime will be inspired to add a bit of international flavor with these colorful and fun offerings.—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

2014-02-19
Intrepid Hippo travels the world, making new friends everywhere he lands.Simple declarative statements introduce children to greetings in eight languages. They learn that to say hello, Hippo "says ‘Bonjour!' in France." He says "Privyet!" in Russia, "Al Salaamu Alaykum!" in Egypt, "Namaste!" in India, "Ni hao!" in China, "Konnichiwa!" in Japan and "¡Hola!" in Argentina. Pronunciation help is provided in brackets below the primary text. Each illustration features Hippo greeting friends in a setting evocative of the particular country he's visiting. For example, he sits at a cafe table with the Eiffel Tower in the background in France and perches atop a cheery elephant next to a fountain in a courtyard in India. Perpetually smiling Hippo is decked out in a green striped shirt and orange shorts and accompanied by a tiny, bright red bird. At the end, "Hippo's Travel Map!" shows red stars marking all the places Hippo has visited as he waves jauntily from the old-fashioned plane he pilots across the page. In the companion title, How Gator Says Good-bye!, Gator visits the same countries Hippo does, only he is shown saying goodbye instead of hello, and the featured scene for each country is different.Simple text and charming illustrations make this an appealing introduction to some of the world's many languages and cultures. (Board book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews