Am I Beautiful? - Hardcover

PreSchool-K-- While his mother takes a wallow, Young Hippo goes off wandering. He looks on as a lioness croons endearments as she plays with her cubs. A father stork teaches his children to dance, complimenting them and singing their praises. A woman cuddles with her child in front of a thatched hut saying, ``You are the dearest, fattest, most beautiful little baby in the whole world.'' Who will tell Young Hippo he is beautiful? Why, his own mother, of course. He hurries back to her and receives his own share of maternal affection. Minarik tells a gentle tale of early childhood, while Abolafia's watercolor cartoons in soft pastel shades are round and lovable. Many pages feature unmentioned secondary characters such as lizards, frogs, butterflies, mice, and even elephants and giraffes who are going about their own business. This is a winner for the toddler set, but for an even more joyous, more exuberant rendering of similar ideas, look to Vera Williams's ``More, More, More,'' Said the Baby (Greenwillow, 1990). --Ruth Semrau, Lovejoy School, Allen, TX
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.