Hippoposites

Review

Definitely not just for preschoolers, despite the apparently basic ‘opposites’ theme and ‘one word per page’ format, this classy and heavily design-led board book has huge potential for inspiring both literacy and art activities with pupils from Reception right through to Y6. For example, younger children could trace and cut out two copies of the stylised hippo motif, before using them to illustrate opposites identified and listed on the whiteboard during an initial class discussion. Older students might be encouraged to explore the more abstract word pairings represented in the book (such as ‘free’ and ‘caged’; and ‘alone’ and ‘together’) – and take them further. What is the opposite of ‘peaceful’? Or ‘jealous’? Is there a single answer? And can they come up with a design concept of their own that is as striking and adaptable as Janik Coat’s hippopotamus?