When Red Panda leaves the broken zoo, in Hippopotamister by John Patrick Green, he comes back every so often to tell Hippo how wonderful the outside world is. And Hippo enjoys these visitations until one day Hippo is not content to just listen to the stories, he wants to leave and find a wonderful job for himself, like Red Panda has had so many off (and yes, folks, Hippo is a sweet, naïve lug of a hippo and did not see the red flags).
And while you will notice as Red Panda and Hippo travel through all types of jobs (hairstylists, chefs, construction workers), Hippo has not met a job he cannot handle. And Red Panda is shall we say, a bit less suited for most positions, and they lose their jobs. But it is not until Hippo and Children at Daycare meet that he finds a snag in his talents. He is not suited for dealing with Children. But Red Panda seems to have a great compression hold on this particular skill. People just adore him. This, and being lonely for home, makes Hippo go back to the zoo, where he realizes a little TLC is all the place needs. But while he can fix it up, how can he get people to come to the new zoo?
A goofy, modern story in the wake of Buddy Tales of classic reads includes a mixture of old school classic illustrations and modern flair. Not overly busy, there is still much going on each page. The coloring is comfortable, and it is a fun story for the stronger beginning reader (or with help) and can be a read aloud to a solo child. A group might be a little harder. All ages (up to about second grade, or young third) is the target audience.
