'When I woke up I was a hippopotamus. Yawning in the morning, I raised up my sleepy head, Then took one look out of the window and got straight back into bed.'
A small boy's fantasies about being different creatures get him into all sorts of mischief!
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Ross Collins' striking illustrations combine a Winnie-the-Pooh cuddle factor with a dark imagination reminiscent of Tenniel's drawings for Alice. - TES
There isn't an illustrator in Britain who uses a more intelligent visual storytelling language. - TES
Tom MacRae is such a talented and sensitive writer. I love this book. I only wish he'd written it thirty years earlier then I could have loved it as a child. - Culture Editor, Channel 4 News
A wonderful story about the potential pitfalls of an over-active imagination. - The Bookbag
Great fun. - Angels & Urchins
A great story for toddlers and young school children . . . about the potential pitfalls of an over-active imagination. - The Bookbag
Joyously illustrated, this rhyming story is a delight. - Daily Mail
MacRae's verse gets a good boost from Collins, who manages the boy's transformations and accompanying chaos in sprawling, detailed watercolor cartoons that evince a firm but funny hand. - Publisher's Weekly
Fabulously off-kilter illustrations. - The Daily Telegraph
A good bedtime story. - Evening Standard
A riot of a picture book, (it) fires the junior imagination and elicits knowing smiles from parents. - Cork Evening Echo
(An) eye-catching, well-written, rhyming tale. The colorful, detailed drawings are laugh-out-loud funny...sure to appeal to a wide variety of youngsters. - Starred Review, Library Media Connection, US
Too good to miss... delightful and original story from two top picture book talents. - Carousel
This is a visual and aural treat. - The School Librarian
Ideal stocking filler for 3 to 4-year-olds. - Scotland On Sunday
(A) very funny celebration of imagination. Great to read aloud with lots of fun details to spot in the illustrations. - The Bookseller
Rhyming text and lively, humorous illustrations make this a great book to read together - Booktrust
By this author
About the Author
Ross Collins graduated from the Glasgow School of Art with a First in Illustration. In the same year he won the Macmillan Children's Book Prize. He now has over eighty titles to his name including Busy Night which won the White Raven Award and Billy Monster's Daymare which won the Royal Mail Book Award. He lives in Glasgow.
Tom Macrae is best known as a BAFTA-winning scriptwriter for television: his work has been shown on both Channel 4 and BBC2. He has recently written several episodes for the new series of both Doctor Who and Miss Marple. His first book for children, The Opposite, was published by Andersen Press in 2006, and his second Baby Pie in 2009.
