In the heat of the African bush, a herd of hippos bask in the cool waters of a river. A young hippo goes for a walk. Annoyed by an insect, he shakes his head and suddenly his eye falls into the water! The poor animal starts shaking, stirring up the mud. The water becomes murky: it’s impossible to find his eye. A bird advises him not to panic, crocodiles tell him not to panic, lions, hyenas, elephants, wildebeests, giraffes, frogs and monkeys shout at him to breathe. The hippo calmed down and stood still. The water becomes clear again and what does he see at the bottom? His eye! The animals congratulate the brave little hippopotamus, who has managed to overcome his fear and torment by breathing.
Using inventive and playful graphics, Loïc Gaume and Sylvain Alzial offer a contemporary adaptation of a traditional Cameroonian tale, a wacky yet wise tale.
Age : From 2 years 1/2•Size : 16 x 20 cm•Volume : 40 pages•Price : 11.9€•ISBN : 978-2-931296-27-1•Rights sold :
Sylvain Alzial is a documentalist at Radio France. He has produced programmes for France Culture and France Inter. Passionate traditional cultures, he writes adaptations of tales. He is notably the author of Panthera tigris (Rouergue) and Chapeau les singes ! (Sarbacane).
Loïc Gaume is a French author, illustrator and graphic artist who lives in Brussels. His comic strip animation work is published in Les Détails, the publishing organisation which he created, and in L’Association (a Lapin review). He also contributes to the children's review Cuistax. His first album, Contes au carré [Square Tales], was published by Thierry Magnier in September 2016 an receive the Opera Prima price in 2017 at the Bologna Ragazzi Awards.
He is the author of Clac, la trappe !,Plus de place ! and L'île aux deux crabes, published by Versant Sud Jeunesse, and also Catastrophes (published by Thierry Magnier).
