Review by Booklist Review
From the author of the popular Dinosaur vs. Bedtime (2008), this stylistically simple and undeniably hip book is sure to captivate the under-five set. In pictures using a mostly four-color scheme, and that also feature textural pops of photo detail (a burlap-covered couch, a spray of tossed carrots), a little hippo and his father playfully get through a day's worth of activities, from getting dressed to eating lunch to hugging. The catch is the youngster has to show Dad how these things need to be done. When Daddy climbs through the car window before they go to visit Grandma, his son demonstrates how the car door opens. See? Easy peasy, mac and cheesy! Little readers will like Daddy's silliness (in one scene he places his underwear on his head), while adult caretakers will appreciate Dad's gentle use of psychology. Observant tots will also delight in the TV appearance of Shea's dinosaur in several scenes. Overall, an enjoyable romp and a worthy addition to the many daddy-child volumes on picture-book shelves.--Cruze, Karen Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"I don't know what my daddy would do without me," admits a little blue hippo. When his father, wearing oven mitts on his hands and underwear on his head, asks, "Is this how you get dressed?" the child exclaims, "Oh, Daddy!" and demonstrates how to put on practical clothes. When his father squeezes through the car window, the child teaches him to use the door. Shea pictures the stocky, tumbling hippos with kidney-bean heads and sets them in simple, sunny digital collages. His amiable pair accomplishes necessary tasks and goof around, too-busy parents will want to try this formula of patience plus humor. Ages 3-6. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-In this humorous paean to fatherhood, a rounded, Raschka-esque hippo explains that he is so smart that he shows his dad how to do things. Shea goes through a series of scenarios in which the father gets his son to do what he wants by pretending he doesn't know how to do it correctly. When the youngster claims to be "busy getting dressed," the pictures show him watching TV in his underwear. The father proceeds to mix up his clothing and asks, "Is this how you get dressed?" prompting the child to respond, "Oh, Daddy! This is how you get dressed!" And so it goes, ending with the boy showing his father how to give big hugs. The concise text captures the child's voice perfectly, and the well-placed page-turns effectively set up what comical thing the adult has done to prompt each "Oh, Daddy!" The mixed-media illustrations incorporate collage elements into a spare, cartoonlike world depicting thickly outlined blue hippos with dot eyes and expressive faces. The gentle humor evident in the contrasts between text and pictures, as well as the scenes of the father doing things outrageously wrong, will keep kids entertained. This will work equally well in storytimes or one-on-one. Buy it for Father's Day and put it out all year as an antidote to the cloyingly sweet parent-child books glutting the market.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In a neat lesson of reverse psychology, a young hippopotamus shows his father the right way to do things; for example, how to get dressed, water the flowers, and give hugs. The sky-blue hippos, with lima-bean-shaped heads, are juxtaposed against a variety of eye-pleasingly clean, crisp, minimally decorated backgrounds. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Thank goodness this hippo dad has his smart son to help him out! "[W]hen we're late to Grandma's, he asks... // 'Is this how you get in the car?' / 'Come on, daddy!' // 'This is how you get in the car.' See? Easy peasy, mac and cheesy!" Shea's illustrations, however, tell a slightly different story. Dad anxiously looks at his watch, while son chases a butterfly. His absurd contortions as he tries to squeeze through the car window instantly draw his son, whose demonstration of the proper car-entering methodology ensures that they get to Grandma's right on time. Scenario after scenario, the son saves his dad from his incompetence, right up to a final lesson in hugging. The blue hippos play out this drama against a Modernist, mixed-media backdrop with pleasing simplicity. A breath of fresh air. (Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
