Wonderfully Made

September 1, 2013

K-Gr 2-This third installment in the series depicts the adorable, whimsical, wide-eyed, humanized zoo animals preparing for a talent show. Everyone, it seems, is endowed with a special apptitude except Hayley the Hippo. Friends offer support by telling her that she just has to find the talent God has given her. When Hayley, dressed in her polka-dot outfit, visits them, she uses her camera to capture their images as they practice for the event. Her attempts to replicate some of the acts she witnesses fail miserably. She can't flip a ball in the air like Squirt the Seal and breaks a lamp instead. Unlike Boyd, a giraffe, her magic act goes awry. Ice skating with Midge and Pidge, swan twins, ends in disaster. The hippo thinks God has forgotten to give her a talent, but it is right under her nose. She gets a standing ovation when, with the encouragement of her friends, she showcases her prints and realizes that she has been blessed with a flair for photography and with good friends. Illustrations in pastel colors fill the pages and entertain reader as they learn from this spiritual story.-Sandra Welzenbach, Villarreal Elementary School, San Antonio, TX

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