Winsome Horace lies in the middle of a fine mud puddle, a banana peel on his stomach, a small red bird perched alertly on his foot, but he isn't "a happy hippo. There was something missing from his life." What Horace wants most of all is a "nice long wallow with his big round dad," but Mr. Hippo always seems to have "someone to see or somewhere to go." When his father finally promises Horace a romp, the hopeful hippo waits patiently all night. He is so fed up at being stood up, he digs a hole, covers it with grass and literally traps his father in the morning. Fortunately, Mr. Hippo reacts to the ambush with plenty of big hippo laughter, and by book's end, father and son are both eager for the next day when they can play together again. The plot holds no surprises, and Mr. Hippo's transformation into a stay-at-home Dad may be rather unconvincing, but Percy's sympathetic and humorous depiction of the hippo clan is a mud-filled watercolor delight. Ages 3-7. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Horace...is so fed up at being stood up, he digs a hole...and literally traps his father in the morning...A mud-filled watercolor delight."