When Roosevelt, a baby hippopotamus, gets things wrong (as he often does) his older sister is always standing by to point out his mistakes. "Are you blushing again, baby brother?" she asks him, looming large, and he usually is. He turns pink with embarrassment whenever she teases him. Lombard, Roosevelt's avian friend, restores his ego by assuring him he's not blushful, he's "hopeful, mindful, thoughtful, skillful and wonderful." With every positive adjective, Roosevelt's sister gets a little smaller and the background color gets a little less pink. Raschka excels at reinforcing meaning with subtle changes in shape and color. In fact, when it comes to picture book composition, masterful is what he is. (Ages 2-5)

It’s not easy being a blushful hippopotamus Baby hippo Roosevelt tries hard to ride a bike, to count, and to remember the right names of things. When he falls down, forgets a number, or calls a buffalo a “buggalo,” Roosevelt gets embarrassed. His cheeks turn red, and his sister teases him, saying he’s a blushful hippopotamus. Thankfully, Roosevelt has Lombard, an egret friend with a sense of perspective. Lombard reminds Roosevelt that though he may be blushful, he is also hopeful, thoughtful, and wonderful in many ways—and his sister’s words don’t mean a thing.

This fixed-layout ebook, which preserves the design and layout of the original print book, features read-along narration.