Fiona the Hippo, by New York Times bestselling artist Richard Cowdrey of Bad Dog, Marley fame, tells the story of Fiona, the adorable internet sensation from the Cincinnati Zoo who captured hearts around the world with her inspiring story and plucky personality
Cowdrey (Bad Dog, Marley!) takes an anthropomorphic approach to Fiona's story by introducing a cast of talking zoo animals eager to meet her. Fiona is rendered with a big smile, long eyelashes, and a chunky pink-gray body. Cowdrey conveys the excitement surrounding her birth (zoo attendees in scrubs surround Fiona, taking pictures on their cell phones), and describes Fiona's developmental milestones: she drinks from a bottle and learns to walk and swim. The other animals, which include a tortoise, flamingo, giraffe, and bear, are as captivated by Fiona as her human fans--and Fiona finally wants to meet them, too: 'and thinsp;'Did you hear that?' 'It's our turn to play with the baby!'and thinsp;' Though Cowdrey doesn't give readers much sense of the peril Fiona initially faced, the exuberant animal characters offer an engaging introduction to her story. Ages 4--8. (Aug.)