The Happy Hippopotami

Martin ( Chicka Chicka Boom Boom ) and Everitt ( Frida the Wondercat ) introduce some hippos who just wanna have fun, and they certainly have precisely that on their ``hippoholiday'' at the beach. Playful rhymed couplets describe how the hippopotami spend their day. Some lie on the sand in gaily colored bathing suits: ``Like a stretch of granite boulders / Except, of course, for sunburned shoulders.'' While ``hippopotamamas'' give their children snacks and ``hippopotapoppas'' visit the ``candy shoppas,'' ``hippopotadaughters'' swim and ``hippopotasons'' squirt water guns. Most lovable of all are the ``hippopotapooses'': hippo toddlers who stuff their pockets with jelly ``sandywiches.'' Seeming to spill off the pages in their jollity, Everitt's spirited illustrations are sure to endear these playful creatures to kids--who will have as much fun as the hippos do. Ages 4-8. ( Apr. )