A very kind and interesting hippo teaches children how to be a friend!
Bentley the hippo and his playmates are going on a school trip, when Bentley realizes that his friend ,Tubby the elephant, is missing. Though he is worried, he follows the teachers instructions to go on the bus. At the park, they play and have fun, but when they hear a voice from behind the bushes in the forest calling to them, they realized it is Tubby the elephant. Bentley the hippo tells him how happy he is that he came. This makes Tubby happy too and he shares how he was bullied before his arrival. Now he can't even find his glasses. This encourages the group of friends to join him in looking for his glasses.
Bentley is the kindest hippo you will ever meet. His care and love for his friends are easy to see and Bentley does an excellent job of modelling socially acceptable behaviour. My favourite thing about Bentley is his deep green colour. This makes Bentley easy to spot and easy to love. The drawings are realistic and fun, which makes the story easy to understand!
The storyline takes up 17 pages and will keep the attention of small children. It's also a perfect bedtime story, because the characters on the bus fall asleep at the end of the book.
Another beautiful thing about this picture book is that the author combines the characters of small children with small animals, which makes the story fun and interesting. The story is an easy read for children who are learning to read, celebrating them with easy to pronounce words, and challenging them with more difficult words like "intimidate".
I would encourage any parent, with a new reader, to pick this book up at their local bookstore or at the local public library.
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