Review of "Bentley Finds a Hippopotomonsterous" by Miki Taylor, Illustrated by Eunhye Shin

Score: 95/100 (9.5 out of 10)

Read, set, GO!

Here's another vibrant, colorful, joy-filled, and utterly funtabulous adventure with Bentley, Betty, and all of their lovable animal friends!

Bentley Finds a Hippopotomonsterous by Miki Taylor is a lovely addition to one of the most impressive children's book series to come our way over the years.

In this book, we rejoin Bentley (the fluffy dog), Betty (his owner and best-friend), and Mr. Bee in what turns out to be a bit more of a mystery/seek-and-find type book.

Throughout the book, Bentley insists that he saw something "Really, really BIG; Really, really FLUFFY; And really, really COLORFUL!"

However, every time he draws attention to this, the mysterious animal or creature disappears! Oh, no! How is poor Bentley going to prove to all his friends that he isn't imagining things and that there really is an unusual, special creature out there?!

We loved this for so many reasons.

One of the reasons that's easy to overlook is how this engages young readers.
Young readers love to be prompted. So, if a teacher, parent, or babysitter leaves them with an open-ended question, they are naturally gonna be eager to answer and join in. They're going to be just waiting to say:

"Something really, really BIG
Really, really FLUFFY
And really, really COLORFUL!"

Something else cool about this particular book is that it crosses over into being a seek-and-find book similar to Where's Waldo, which always offers nice little surprises and fun opportunities for readers to engage.

This is enhanced by the sheer fact that the illustrator, Eunhye Shin, is SO DETAILED and SO METICULOUS!

Eunhye Shin never ceases to amaze us. Yes, there's probably someone out there who might complain that there's too much going on on each page, or that it's too bright and colorful to the point of being sensory-overload, and that scenes tend to be chaotic, but we didn't mind all that. In fact, we commend the effort and attention to detail that this remarkable illustrator consistently puts into her work. She is truly extraordinary!

Oh, speaking of the seek-and-find aspect of this book, the author and illustrator sprinkled in some little Easter eggs for the kids to find including a lollipop, a candy cane, cotton candy, Swedish fish, watermelon candy, and a gumdrop.

But perhaps the most special little Easter Egg is the African violet flower that's hidden somewhere in this book. This is special because, as the author explains, this was her Mammalw's (grandma's) favorite flower. Oh, and from this book, we learned that her grandmother was named Betty, which explains why one of the main protagonists of the series is named Betty. This is an inspired work!

It's also nice to be able to invite young readers to ask what they notice on each page.

The characters are always doing something or thinking something! There are times when they are singing. There are times when they are swimming. There's even a whole section in which they daydream, realizing that the mysterious creature appears when they're quiet and restful.

Hey, that might be an invitation to get kids to take a nap! That can be useful.

It's cool to see old background characters from previous books like Eloise (the elephant nurse), Grady Gorilla (the football player), and DeeDee Dolphin (the beauty pageant star). The daydreaming sequence actually gives us a fun little glimpse into their thoughts, motivations, and priorities, which kids are gonna be quick to identify and point out.

Even George the giraffe (the baker who was heavily featured in the previous book) and Coco the centipede (probably the only centipede we'd ever consider "cute") are in this book.

There are a few characters who probably deserve more credit and recognition based on this book. One of those is Lenny Lizard.

We didn't even remember Lenny Lizard from previous books, but he gets to shine in this one. He's the one who finally figures out the secret to uncovering the mysterious creature that Bentley keeps talking about. Charlie Chicken, another character who got overshadowed in the past, also helps out.

All the characters work together, which is nice to see.

Also, this book also made us think about something... it empathizes and helps give a voice to people who speak out but aren't heard or believed. Kids experience this all the time, unfortunately. Kids are constantly discredited and looked down on by adults. The assumption that adults often make is you're too young to know anything or it's just a figment of your imagination. To a child, it sometimes feels like they aren't seen or heard above the big huge people and big huge things. So, it's easy to relate with Bentley. Bentley constantly tells the other characters about the Hippopotomonsterous, but they keep telling him that he must just be imagining things. It can be frustrating to feel like you're not heard or believed the way that Bentley is.

Speaking of the Hippopotomonsterous... that was an interesting addition. Hippopotomonsterous is the most bizarre and strange character ever in this series.

Thankfully, it's not scary. In fact, she or he is actually quite cute (like all of the characters). What makes us a little concerned is that it looks like the Hippopotomonsterous is going to be heavily featured and even become a central character in future installments in the series. This character is HUGE. So, it's going to be taking up a lot of space on the page in future books. Adding a major central character is always a balancing act. We hope that Hippopotomonsterous doesn't overshadow and eclipse the other great characters we've met throughout the series.

Our understanding of Hippopotomonsterous is that it represents a cool, magical, and capable friend similar to a fairy or dragon in a fantasy book. We have mixed feelings about this guy, but we'll see where the series goes.

While still packed with characters and action, this book seems to have taken some of our previous advice to heart. First and foremost, this is probably the least wordy book in the series, which may make it better for daily sit-down readings at circle time or bedtime.

Overall, this was another outstanding book in the series!

Check out the series HERE!