✽ 'Le Popotin de L'Hippopo' by Marc Boutavant & Didier Lévy

☞ As far as I know this book's title translates to 'Hippopo's Big Bottom'. This is another book I'd really like to see an English version of. Marc Boutavant is a brilliant Parisian illustrator and writer with several later books:

As you can see, this is another Chinese version I picked up in Taipei. His books are again, very popular in Asia, but hard to find in the UK. I have seen one of his later books (Around the World with MOUK) at a more specialised shop in Brighton, but it's a shame you can't see his books more in the public domain. This is a great story about 'Hippopo', who is tired of having his big bottom made fun of by the other jungle animals. I'm not sure how strong my grasp of the translated story is, but it seems to be about how all animals are different, and that it's wrong to fight over our differences:

The illustrations and character expressions / gestures are really hilarious. I also love Marc Boutavant's colour palette, where he sometimes uses full colour and other times limits it to a black line with flat colour behind; other times he uses black silhouetted shapes to show the changing times of day. He also really gets how to use perspectives and angles in a way that make you feel part of the story. I think this is book that (even if you can't fully understand the translation) really makes you smile!

Links for Marc Boutavant:
☞ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Around-World-Mouk-Sticker-Book
☞ http://www.heartagency.com/artist/MarcBoutavant
☞ http://www.geckopress.co.nz/Marc_Boutavant_88.aspx