The Hiccupopotamus: a rhyming picture book with authentic African animals

In this rhyming picture book, baby hippo wakes up with a problem. She has the hiccups, and they won’t let her sleep. Under the dawning African sun, she walks around her lakebed home and asks for help from an assortment of animal neighbors. Monkeys, a zebra, an elephant, a lion, and an aardvark are just some of the animals that share their own special cures for the hiccups. The delightful illustrations, upbeat rhymes and funny content make this an excellent read-aloud for the whole family. More than fun, it is also educational. The 10 species depicted in this book really do live together in Africa. Better still, the animals’ cures are all true-to-life habits particular to each one, so the rhymes help kids learn. To top it off, there are two informative pages at the end of the book. For example (**Spoiler Alert**) baby hippo finally finds relief after walking full circle and back to her mother. In addition to being heartwarming, it’s also true. Mother and daughter hippos form strong social bonds among these otherwise anti-social animals. The animals in this book are: hippopotamuses, vervet monkeys, a plains zebra, an African elephant, a cheetah, warthogs, a giraffe, a lion, an aardvark, and crested porcupines. It’s a great chance to add some new animals to your child’s mental zoo. Everyone knows elephants and lions, but aardvarks and crested porcupines? Here’s the verse about the aardvark: Silly, stringy, sticky licker, Aardvark’s tongue delves deep inside. A termite mound stops hiccups quicker Than any other cure I’ve tried.