Holly’s Day at the Pool

Most hippos love the water, but not the heroine of Shum’s first picture book, part of the Walt Disney Animation Studios Artist Showcase series. Holly has imagination to spare: when faced with the task of retrieving her sister’s favorite toy from a tree, Holly envisions herself climbing a mountain to rescue the piglet, Piggy Wig. But when it’s time to go to the pool, Holly’s flights of fancy aren’t quite so heroic. Decked out in a ruffled swimsuit, the small pink hippo asks her father a series of what-ifs as her worries play out dramatically. Concerned about the water being cold, Holly shivers on an iceberg; afraid of getting water in her eyes and ears, she recoils under a waterfall, while Daddy offers common-sense solutions (“Wipe the water away if it gets in your eyes”). A second chance to rescue Piggy Wig finally gets Holly in the water. Shum’s crisp, creamy illustrations never let Holly’s worst-case scenarios get too dark—they’re unlikely to provoke aquatic nervousness among readers—but the dialogue-driven text and tepid imagery don’t do much to move the story’s emotional needle. Ages 3–5. (Apr.)