Scholastic’s North Winds Press imprint is publishing a pleasant new picture book called The Blue Hippopotamus, the last book written by the late, beloved Canadian author-illustrator Phoebe Gilman (Jillian Jiggs). Never a fan of cross-species love stories (such as Stuart Little or The Tale of Despereaux), I have to admit this one is touching. Based on a short story called “The Blue Faience Hippopotamus” by Joan Grant, it is beautifully illustrated by Joanne Fitzgerald (The Little Rooster and the Diamond Button).

Set in ancient Egypt, the story revolves around a young hippo, Hapu, who falls in love with the pharaoh’s little daughter, Mery-Am. As she frolics in the water, Hapu inadvertently scares her away. Despite his friends’ mockery, Hapu begs a magician to transform him into something a girl could love. Hapu, metamorphosed into a blue hippo toy, becomes Mery-Am’s favourite possession. Years go by, and, as with Fern in Charlotte’s Web or the little boy in The Velveteen Rabbit, Mery-Am loses interest in her toy/pet. She longs instead for the love of a young man. When Hapu is granted just one wish, he uses it to secure her happiness instead of his own, and then a careless servant breaks him. In a surprise ending, Hapu is reincarnated as Mery-Am’s first child with her true love.

Joanne Fitzgerald’s gentle watercolour illustrations perfectly complement the compassionate tone of the story. Gilman wisely stays away from verse, relating the tale in lucid and simple prose. The age-old folkloric moral – that those who act in the interest of others are always rewarded – thus emerges loud and clear without the story ever seeming pedantic.