Hello, Hippo! Goodbye, Bird by Kristyn Crow (review)

Everyone’s got one: a friend who is, by turns, lovable and annoying as heck. For cantankerous Hippo, that friend is sassy, motormouthed Bird. Sure, Bird is helpful on occasion, like when he uses his beak to snap up bees that Hippo has inadvertently unleashed, but Hippo can get along just fine without him . . . right? That’s what Hippo thinks until a big storm hits and Hippo is all alone; a wail for Bird brings the feathered friend—and the umbrella he creates with his wings—back to Hippo’s (back)side. While Hippo feigns indifference, it’s clear that Bird is right: “I told you we make a great team.” The unlikely-friends trope is employed to good effect here, and the pair’s oppositional personalities are amusingly and succinctly expressed through the dialogue (displayed in contrasting fonts) that comprises the narrative. Bird’s jokes in and of themselves are pretty darn funny (“‘So . . . what is a hippo’s favorite thing to sit on?’ ‘I dunno. A pesky bird?’ ‘His hippo-bottomus’”), and they will likely be a hit with young listeners. Bernatene’s lively mixed media artwork (which utilizes pencils and digital coloring) captures the colors of the wild setting, with sunny oranges and golds offset by cool watery blues, jungle greens, and occasional swaths of clean white space. Ruddy terracotta Hippo is a hoot with his prominent teeth, expressive ping-pong-ball-like eyes, and whiskery visage, and his rotund form mirthfully contrasts with blue Bird’s slender, spindly-legged shape. This could easily fit into a storytime about friendship or into a lesson on animal partnerships.