Zoe’s Rescue Zoo 10 – The Happy Hippo

The Happy Hippo, book 10 in Amelia Cobb's Zoe's Rescue Zoo series, is an animal story for 5 year olds about a baby hippo who stays cheerful whatever happens.

What happens

Zoe Parker lives in a cottage at the edge of the Rescue Zoo, where her mum is the vet. She also has a secret. She can talk to animals, and they talk back! Her best friend is Meep, a tiny mouse lemur who is always, ALWAYS hungry.

When Great-Uncle Horace rolls in on the zoo bus, he's brought a new arrival from Tanzania. It's a baby hippo he pulled out of deep, sticky mud at the edge of a lake full of crocodiles. There was no sign of the little hippo's family, so he's come to live with the other hippos at the zoo.

Zoe names him Henry. And Henry loves mud. He dives straight into the mud bath and splatters Mr Pinch, the zoo manager, who hates mess more than anything. Poor Mr Pinch (he gets splashed more than once).

Meanwhile Zoe has a worry of her own. Mum goes quiet every time the summer holidays come up. When the news finally comes out, it's not what Zoe wanted to hear. She'll have to spend six weeks with Auntie Edna, who is allergic to animals. Meep can't come.

Then the hippos crash through their fence during a game of chase, and Mr Pinch decides four hippos are too much trouble for his zoo.

What's lovely here is how Henry helps Zoe. He isn't sad even when he hears the bad news, and his good mood rubs off on her. It's a nice, gentle way to talk about looking on the bright side when things feel unfair.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

It comes up early and very briefly, and the focus stays firmly on how happy he is in his new home.

For a little animal lover there's lots to enjoy. Zoe feeds the macaws and lovebirds, helps hose mud off the path and throws a ball for two hippos in their pool. Who wouldn't want her job?

What to read next

If they'd like more of Zoe and Meep, The Cuddly Koala is the story where a baby koala called Kipp comes to the zoo. Zoe is off school for half-term with a science project to do, and hundreds of animals to choose from.