Here’s a new one for the Perfect Picture Book Fridays list.


Here Comes Doctor Hippo
Written by Jonathan London
Illustrated by Gilles Eduar
Boyds Mills Press, 2012

Suitable for: Ages 3-5

Theme/Topic: Imaginative Play, Animals

Opening: Little Hippo didn’t like being little. In fact, he liked to dress up and pretend that he was big. So, one day he marched outside to play doctor.

Brief Synopsis: Little Hippo goes out to play doctor, but finds his animal patients can be a challenge. Mama Hippo helps Little Hippo finish out his day with a little mama medicine.

Link to Resources: Here’s a lesson plan called At the Doctor. A role play exercise for seeing a doctor.ย Children can play doctor with their animals at home just like Little Hippo did.

Why I chose this book: I mentioned last week we are reading Hippo books. From the first page, my son enjoyed this book and asked for it again and again. While the author has written several books, a quick search didn’t lead me to London’s website. I did find this Kirkus Review of the book, which mentions a similar title called Doctor Ted by Andrea Beaty in 2008. After reading a bit more about the author and his Froggy series of books, I’ll guess the “A Little Hippo Story” at the top of the cover means more books are no doubt expected in the future.ย 

For more Perfect Picture books, check out Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog.