The Blushful Hippopotamus: Read-Aloud Edition

by Chris Raschka

Overview

It’s not easy being a blushful hippopotamus Baby hippo Roosevelt tries hard to ride a bike, to count, and to remember the right names of things. When he falls down, forgets a number, or calls a buffalo a “buggalo,” Roosevelt gets embarrassed. His cheeks turn red, and his sister teases him, saying he’s a blushful hippopotamus. Thankfully, Roosevelt has Lombard, an egret friend with a sense of perspective. Lombard reminds Roosevelt that though he may be blushful, he is also hopeful, thoughtful, and wonderful in many ways—and his sister’s words don’t mean a thing.

This fixed-layout ebook, which preserves the design and layout of the original print book, features read-along narration.
   

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781453296677
Publisher:	Open Road Media Young Readers
Publication date:	03/19/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	26 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

Chris Raschka (b. 1959) is an author and illustrator of picture books. He was born in Pennsylvania and raised outside of Chicago, Illinois. He began painting as a child but was also interested in becoming a doctor, so he got a college degree in biology and applied to medical school. On the first day of class, though, he changed his mind. Raschka began to write and draw professionally; his early books include the Caldecott Honor winner Yo! Yes? (1993), The Blushful Hippopotamus (1996),and Arlene Sardine (1998). He has won acclaim for his striking, minimalist style and his ability to tell a story with just one or two dozen words. An accomplished violist, Raschka has also written many books about music, including John Coltrane’s Giant Steps (2002), Simple Gifts (1998), and Charlie Parker Played Be Bop (1992). He has won Caldecott medals for The Hello, Goodbye Window (2005) and A Ball for Daisy (2011), an entirely wordless book. 

Editorial Reviews

The perfect antidote for anyone who's ever suffered the slings and arrows of an outrageous older sister, this may well be Raschka's (Yo! Yes?) best picture book yet. With what seem like a few effortless strokes of ink and watercolor and a quick scribble with an oil stick, the author/artist delivers Roosevelt, a winsome young hippopotamus who is tormented by his elder sibling at every opportunity. Fortunately for the hapless hippo, he has a most loyal friend in Lombard the duck, who counteracts the teasing with generous and creative accolades ("A skillful hippopotamus is what it is you are"). Roosevelt's sister, who looms so large in the beginning of the book that only her enormous nose and a portion of her torso fit on the page, recedes in proportion to Lombard's praise, until she's only a teeny caricature; Roosevelt, meanwhile, swells visibly with each boost to his ego, until it's he who fills the final page, sweeping Lombard up in a grateful embrace. Ah, the sweet balm of friendshipits magic works as admirably on these pages as it does in real life. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A vulnerable young hippo tends to blush when he is teased and criticized by his older sister. However, when he starts to listen to and believe the affirmations of his duck friend, his self-esteem grows while big sister's influence gets smaller. Bold, child-like illustrations in watercolor and ink show the humor of the "blushful" hippopotamus and his gradually shrinking sister.

Children's Literature - Gisela Jernigan

PreS-KYoung Roosevelt Hippopotamus has two problems. The first is an embarrassing tendency to blush, and the second is a loud-mouthed older sister who never misses a chance to point out his rosy cheeks. Luckily, Roosevelt has a best friend named Lombard, a rather silly looking bird who reassures him that he is not blushful; he is "hopeful," "mindful," "thoughtful," and "skillful." This simple story will comfort any child who's ever been teased unmercifully and delight those who demand poetic justice for taunting siblings. Raschka's art carries much of the message here. His facility with line creates an overbearing older sister on one page and a diminutive, hesitant Roosevelt opposite. Rough streaks and blotches of bright color add a lively texture to the figures while the background blushes from bright yellow behind the sister, to pink in back of Roosevelt. This color scheme indicates the power structure and reinforces the theme. Size and space also tell a story. On the first page Roosevelt's sister overwhelms the background and bursts off the left-hand page; as Roosevelt gains confidence, the roles of the two siblings are reversed and so are the color scheme and size of the characters. On the last page, Raschka makes minimal use of lines to show the two friends in a sunny embrace that, from a distance, resembles smiling faces. This warm finale should satisfy young children without preaching about the power of friendship.Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY

School Library Journal

Raschka (Can't Sleep, 1995, etc.), recognizing that siblings and friends loom large in a small child's world, shows how a big sister's teasing is diminished by the support of a friend in an exuberant read-aloud. Roosevelt's sister calls him the "blushful hippopotamus" as he struggles with the challenges of childhood: saying the right word, staying upright on his bike, coping with a spilled ice-cream cone. He gets pink all over from her teasing. But Lombard, his "best friend Lombard," a bird of clearly Kermit-the-Frog-style loyalty, reminds him that he is, also, a hopeful, mindful, thoughtful, skillful, and wonderful hippopotamus. Raschka's signature curlicues and whorls, in India ink and oil sticks, create a marvelous energy for the stolid hippo figures. The older sister, with her red manicured nails and bright red striped ensemble, gets smaller and smaller in the page frame as Roosevelt gains confidence (and page space). Bountiful comfort in very few words.

Kirkus Reviews