The Hippos' Wedding

Lynn Manuel, the author of Return to Cranberry Farm, writes mystery
novels for young adults.

This lavishly illustrated hardcover book is essentially the story of a
journey through the jungle of the Hippo family as they travel to Cousin
Flo’s wedding. Along the way a series of misadventures results in the
ruin of their wedding gifts. They decide to improvise and take flowers,
ferns, fruit, and singing birds to the wedding instead. This is a lovely
idea for a story and the colorful illustrations are filled with
wonderful detail of the jungle and a charming depiction of the Hippo
family. But while the flavor of the story has been conveyed in
watercolor and pencil, the text fails to come alive. It is lacking in
humor and excitement and seems to slip into an inappropriately
melancholy mood, as one night the Hippos think their sad thoughts and
feel sorry for themselves because of the times when they didn’t
receive gifts or had them taken from them. The sophisticated vocabulary
is not at a level appropriate for young listeners, who prefer language
that is simple and easy to follow, and is also too daunting for a
struggling young reader.