The Hippopandamouse by Jools Bentley

The Hippopandamouse by Jools Bentley
Buy The Hippopandamouse by Jools Bentley at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Zoe Page
Summary: A fun if slightly dark book about what really goes on inside a toy shop after hours
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: July 2016
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
ISBN: 978-1447288909
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When the princess comes to your shop, everyone stands to attention, and Fluffley's Fine Toys is no exception. In preparation, the staff work hard to ensure everything is perfect. The floor is clean, the shelves neat and tidy, a place for everything and everything in its place. And if anything doesn't meet these exacting stands then POOF! It's off to the Unstitcher room. There is no room for anything less than perfection here.

You probably know what it's like, when you have a big deadline or an important visitor. Everyone panics. Stress level rises. And sometimes, just sometimes, mistakes are made. In my line of work, maybe a presentation changes font half way through the slides, or the wrong shade of grey is used in a bullet point. But in Fluffley's, much graver things can occur. Like a Hippopotamus somehow ending up with panda fur and a mouse tail. And that, as you would imagine is far from desirable.

Princesses, though, are smart cookies. Spoiled with toys, games and gifts, they've seen it all before. They're on the search for something new, something better, something different. And what is more different than a Hippopandamouse? Well, exactly.

This is a book that is super fun on the surface but with a somewhat darker interior. If we can buy into the idea that toys are real, almost living things, can we then accept a world where any who are tatty, deshelled or generally rough around the edges DON'T find a loving home, aren't even given the chance to meet a nice family to adopt them, but are instead sent to a rather violent room where their tails, ears, legs and more are viciously ripped from their bodies and put into supply boxes for re-use with the next creation? If you think I'm exaggerating then you really just need to look at page 7 to see this represented in all its violent glory. A devilish, cheeky child will love it, but you may wish to do a pre-read for any more sensitive souls as it may be somewhat traumatising.

Violence aside, what a great book this is. The story is fun and the pictures are generally friendly, albeit with the odd rogue eyeball rolling around the page. It's definitely like no other children's book I've read this year. Keep the aforementioned warning in mind, but otherwise dig in. 9 out of 10 will cackle with laughter from start to finish.

Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book.

If you like your hippos sans-panda and mouse, look no further than Hippospotamus by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Hippopandamouse by Jools Bentley at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Hippopandamouse by Jools Bentley at Amazon.com.

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