Happy Hiding Hippos

The lovable lugs from McCarthy's Ten Little Hippos graduate to a game of hide-and-seek in this lighthearted venture. The premise alone is funny, but ample visual silliness ensures many kid laughs. The hippos are not exactly adept at self-concealment; one dons a lamp shade, pretending to be a lamp; another tries to blend in with a cactus. The game moves from house to costume shop to park, until rain herds the hippos back home, where they settle into bed. Pleasing rhymes relate their antics: ``Down the streets and through the shops, / in and out they zoom. / When happy hippos hide, / we all must make some room.'' McCarthy's pastel watercolor hippos may not be inventively rendered, but their accoutrements--tutus, top hats, a Rapunzel-like plait--give them just enough detail to tickle a child's funny bone. Ages 2-6. (Mar.)