Hilda Must Be Dancing

by Karma Wilson (Author) Suzanne Watts (Illustrator)

Hilda Must Be Dancing
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

Swisha-swisha
Clap! Clap! 
Jump, 
Jump, 
Jump!

"Hilda must be dancing!"

Hilda Hippo loves to dance! But there's just one problem. When Hilda dances, it sounds like this: 

Ka-bump! Ka-bump! 

Crash! Crash! Crash! 

Thumpity-bump!

Thumpity-bump! 

Boom!

Bang!

Bash! 

The other animals beg her to find a quieter hobby. Knitting? Singing? 

For Hilda, nothing else will do. What could possible be as fun as dancing?

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Publishers Weekly

When Hilda Hippo dances, the other jungle animals cringe. For "while she danced in utter bliss, / it sounded quite a lot like this: / "Ka-bump! Ka-bump!/ Crash! Crash! Smash!" The earth shakes, she tramples plants and kicks up clouds of dust. The animals suggest Hilda try knitting or singing instead, but it's not until the water buffalo recommends swimming that Hilda proclaims, "Now, here's a hobby/ I adore.../ Water ballet dancing!" Although Hilda wears plenty of extravagant dance costumes, Wilson's (Bear Snores On) descriptions sometimes strain: "While Hilda danced flamenco/ in her favorite pair of heels, / bananas fell in gooey heaps, / shaken from their peels!" Watts's illustrations create a fantasy jungle full of bright flowers and cartoon animals, but Hilda's pink Homer Simpson-style muzzle maintains an almost uniform expression. The ending scene of Hilda performing water ballet ("Swisha-swisha clap! Clap!") provides a satisfying solution for all-readers and fellow jungle inhabitants alike. Ages 3-7. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-Not since Disney's Fantasia has there been a hippo with so much rhythm and movement. Oblivious to the effects of her heavy footfalls, Hilda dances her way through this picture book, tearing up the jungle and having a grand time. While her frustrated neighbors wish she would find an activity a little less jarring, the creature just can't seem to stop. After brief forays into knitting and singing, Hilda and the animals finally come up with a clever compromise. Watts illustrates this cartoon jungle with a palette of vibrant tropical colors and creates bold and humorous images that further energize an already active text. Told in rhyme with plenty of onomatopoeia, this delightfully noisy story is nonstop fun.-Julie Roach, Malden Public Library, MA Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Karma Wilson
Karma Wilson is the bestselling author of several picture books, including the Bear Books series; Where Is Home, Little Pip?; and A Dog Named Doug. Karma lives in Montana.

Jane Chapman is the illustrator of over one hundred books for children, including Dilly Duckling by Claire Freedman and I Love My Mama by Peter Kavanagh, as well as Karma Wilson's Bear Books series and Mortimer's Christmas Manger. She lives with her family in Dorset, England. Visit Jane at JaneKChapman.com.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781416950837
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date
February 01, 2008
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV031020 - Juvenile Fiction | Performing Arts | Dance
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV002000 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | General
Library of Congress categories
Dance
Stories in rhyme
Hippopotamus
Jungle animals
Keystone to Reading Book Award
Nominee 2006 - 2006
California Young Reader Medal
Nominee 2009 - 2009

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