Editorial Review

The strange mammal that we call a hippo is brought to life in this book, which teaches all about the hippopotamus. For instance, hippos have pink sweat that keeps them cool, and they can eat up to 300 pounds of grass in one day. Other facts included are that hippos don’t actually swim, but they walk on the water source’s floor and can hold their breath for up to six minutes. Separate sections are headed by questions, such as ‘Do Hippos Swim?’ and ‘Do Hippos Have Enemies?’ All of the photographs have captions, providing information about what the pictured hippo is doing, or pointing out a detail such as the hippo’s teeth or skin. This book has a glossary with key words such as creche, incisors, and territories. There is also an index and a short list of web sites for reference. This title is part of a six-book ‘Naturebooks’ series about animals, which also includes books about elephants, giraffes, rhinos, wildebeests, and zebras, all written in a similar style.