A little girl imagines that there is a hippopotamus on her roof. when she takes a bath, the hippo takes a shower; when she goes to bed, the hippo watches television on the roof. But when the repair men come to fix the roof, the hippo conveniently disappears, returning only to eat his cake. Ages 2+.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 2 This book started from a family joke. Better it should have stayed in the family. A little girl believes that the family roof leaks because a hippopotamus is sitting on it eating cake. In contrast to the little girl the hippopotamus can do as he likestake a shower instead of a bath, eat special cake, stay up late watching TV, and not get smacked for doing bad things. And that's about it. It seems a slight bit of whimsy on which to hang a book. The story is matched by large watercolors with many flat surfaces; the hippo that is pictured is fairly nondescript. If your five-year-old niece told you this story, you'd pat her on the head and say ``How cute, you clever child,'' but I don't think you'd hand her $12.95. Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public Lib .