A Hippo's Life by Kim Jonah

Did you know that a hippo that is bathing looks like an iceberg? Because their eyes, nose and ears are on top of their head above the water, the rest of their fat body is underwater. They swim but they are very heavy.
They generally weigh about 5,000 lbs. and the biggest hippos can weigh as much as 7,000 lbs. There is a kind of hippo called the Pigmy that only weighs 400 lbs. But they eat only 80 lbs of food per day; this is so cool. Babies are 90 lbs. when they are born but their weight depends upon where they live.
They live mostly near rivers on the savanna in Africa. Did you know that hippos live both on land and in the water; and at night they go on land and eat? The babies like when their mothers give them a ride on their back. The babies play hide-and-seek and tag together. Grown-up hippos don’t exercise enough, but babies play games to exercise. The grownups live in water to protect their babies.
Some people are taking hippo’s habitats. We should protect hippo’s habitats. Long ago there were lots of hippos, but now there are only two kinds of hippos; the Pigmy and the Common Hippo.
The end

Bibliography
1. Hippos by Sally M. Walker Book 1998
2. Hippos by Marianne Johnston Book 1997
3. Hippopotamuses by Judith Jan-Cohen Book 2007