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Danny
Danny the potbellied hippopotamus lived happily in his swampy marsh. On having his teeth cleaned in normal swamp fashion, Danny overhears a worrying conversation that sends him hurrying to find a dentist. And when Danny returns to the marshes, fully fitted with braces, he is the envy of one particular reptile whose gleaming whites lead to a disastrous fate for a city dentist.
Yann and Gwendal Le Bec are brothers from Brittany, France. They launched their website News of the Times in 2012, where they illustrate international news. Danny is their first collaborative children's book.
Yann and Gwendal Le Bec are brothers from Brittany, France. They launched their website News of the Times in 2012, where they illustrate international news. Danny is their first collaborative children's book.
- GenresPicture BooksAnimals
40 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 2015
7 people want to read
About the author
Gwendal Le Bec
18 books1 followerGwendal Le Bec is a French illustrator who frequently works with the New Yorker and the New York Times. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 26, 2015
Good absurd fun.
March 13, 2018
Absurd and perfect. The main character is doofy but thinks he's brilliant, leading to hilarious encounters in his journey from the swamp to the city. Beautifully bold, graphic illustrations. Can't wait to see what is next from this French two-brother team.
April 30, 2021
Oh no the patients! Hahay.
Reading this as an adult made me contemplate that what happened in the plot happens in real life. A good way of laying out pros and cons of trusting and helping.
Reading this as an adult made me contemplate that what happened in the plot happens in real life. A good way of laying out pros and cons of trusting and helping.
October 11, 2024
Outstanding!
April 22, 2015
Review written for and published by Portland Book Review on April 13th:
Danny is a colorful children’s book about a potbellied hippopotamus named Danny. Danny suddenly develops an insecurity about the way he talks after overhearing some cleaner fish surmise that he must have a lisp due to the gap between his teeth. Checking with some of his friends, it is confirmed that he does speak strangely. Danny immediately rushes off to find a dentist in the human city to fit him with braces. Upon his triumphant return to the marsh Danny shows off his new braces to his friends, and a nearby crocodile. The crocodile immediately heads off to visit the dentist too…and then eats him by accident. Left with a line of people waiting to have their teeth checked, the crocodile takes the dentist’s place.
The irony in the book is that Danny is not the character with a lisp – his friends are. While this might be worth a chuckle at the swap, the reason for Danny’s quest to acquire braces is slightly disconcerting. Rather than being a story exposing kids to braces to relieve anxiety about the process, Danny’s motivation to get braces to “fix” his teeth is done with a drive to fit in. In essence, Danny caves to peer pressure – not exactly the best message to give to children.
The crocodile’s “accidental” consumption of the dentist – and the occasional random patient once he became a dentist himself – is also slightly upsetting, particularly as the story brushes it off as part of the crocodile’s nature. On the one hand the character is after all a crocodile so the behavior isn’t unexpected. On the other hand, the book is exonerating the crocodile of its crimes because “it couldn’t help it.” Once again, this is probably not the best message to give to children.
On the surface this book is rather cute. The drawings are simple, and reminiscent of the style of children’s books most commonly available 20+ years ago. The book is a solidly bound hardcover, and should easily survive many readings. Children are bound to find it funny, and will almost certainly laugh at the idea of a crocodile becoming a dentist for humans. Danny succeeds s a quick read purely for entertainment value. However, people looking for a book with morals, lessons, or educational material will need to look elsewhere.
Danny is a colorful children’s book about a potbellied hippopotamus named Danny. Danny suddenly develops an insecurity about the way he talks after overhearing some cleaner fish surmise that he must have a lisp due to the gap between his teeth. Checking with some of his friends, it is confirmed that he does speak strangely. Danny immediately rushes off to find a dentist in the human city to fit him with braces. Upon his triumphant return to the marsh Danny shows off his new braces to his friends, and a nearby crocodile. The crocodile immediately heads off to visit the dentist too…and then eats him by accident. Left with a line of people waiting to have their teeth checked, the crocodile takes the dentist’s place.
The irony in the book is that Danny is not the character with a lisp – his friends are. While this might be worth a chuckle at the swap, the reason for Danny’s quest to acquire braces is slightly disconcerting. Rather than being a story exposing kids to braces to relieve anxiety about the process, Danny’s motivation to get braces to “fix” his teeth is done with a drive to fit in. In essence, Danny caves to peer pressure – not exactly the best message to give to children.
The crocodile’s “accidental” consumption of the dentist – and the occasional random patient once he became a dentist himself – is also slightly upsetting, particularly as the story brushes it off as part of the crocodile’s nature. On the one hand the character is after all a crocodile so the behavior isn’t unexpected. On the other hand, the book is exonerating the crocodile of its crimes because “it couldn’t help it.” Once again, this is probably not the best message to give to children.
On the surface this book is rather cute. The drawings are simple, and reminiscent of the style of children’s books most commonly available 20+ years ago. The book is a solidly bound hardcover, and should easily survive many readings. Children are bound to find it funny, and will almost certainly laugh at the idea of a crocodile becoming a dentist for humans. Danny succeeds s a quick read purely for entertainment value. However, people looking for a book with morals, lessons, or educational material will need to look elsewhere.
December 22, 2014
bookstotreasure.blogspot.com
Danny is a potbellied hippopotamus who lives in a swampy marsh. Upon getting his teeth cleaned by the local swamp fish, he learns that he can fix the gap between his teeth by going to the dentist. Leaving his swampy marsh, Danny travels to the city to find the dentist who insists on giving Danny braces. Showing off his new braces to the local swamp animals, Danny makes a reptile envious. The reptile goes to see the dentist himself, which doesn't end well for the dentist.
I find the age group that is recommended for this book to be off. The author uses words like meticulous and aghast, which I find hard to believe that kids ages 3 to 7 would understand. I also think that the way some parts of the story are told it's a little long winded for kids with short attention spans. While reading this to my daughters who are 2,4, and 10, my two younger daughters lost interest really quickly but my eldest daughter's words were "this book should be directed for my age group." She found the ending quite comical.
The illustrations in the book, which were done by Yann Le Bec, are a perfect match for the story's scenes. They gave the right amount of detail for each of the scenes that were needed to visibly show the audience what was happening.
I recommend this book to kids ages 10 and up, who would get the most out of the story's pace and comical ending.
I received this book from edelweiss for this honest review. All opinions are my own (and my daughters)
Danny is a potbellied hippopotamus who lives in a swampy marsh. Upon getting his teeth cleaned by the local swamp fish, he learns that he can fix the gap between his teeth by going to the dentist. Leaving his swampy marsh, Danny travels to the city to find the dentist who insists on giving Danny braces. Showing off his new braces to the local swamp animals, Danny makes a reptile envious. The reptile goes to see the dentist himself, which doesn't end well for the dentist.
I find the age group that is recommended for this book to be off. The author uses words like meticulous and aghast, which I find hard to believe that kids ages 3 to 7 would understand. I also think that the way some parts of the story are told it's a little long winded for kids with short attention spans. While reading this to my daughters who are 2,4, and 10, my two younger daughters lost interest really quickly but my eldest daughter's words were "this book should be directed for my age group." She found the ending quite comical.
The illustrations in the book, which were done by Yann Le Bec, are a perfect match for the story's scenes. They gave the right amount of detail for each of the scenes that were needed to visibly show the audience what was happening.
I recommend this book to kids ages 10 and up, who would get the most out of the story's pace and comical ending.
I received this book from edelweiss for this honest review. All opinions are my own (and my daughters)
May 16, 2015
Life is good for Danny. The potbellied hippo lives in a marsh and relies on the fish to clean his teeth. But when he realizes that he has a lisp that could be improved with braces, he heads to town to visit a dentist. Upon his return, his friend the crocodile decides that he, too, needs braces. But what happens when he visits the man is only natural. With its sly humor and usefulness as a read aloud, this book will prompt its listeners to flash their own pearly whites as they hear Danny's manner of speaking. This one is funny--and yet very strange. It might not be a good title to have on hand in the dentist's office.
July 11, 2015
This is a great read aloud story about Danny, a hippo that thinks he has a lisp, so he goes to the dentist to get braces. Instead of fixing the lisp that he doesn't really have, the braces create a lisp, but Danny is as happy as can be. As I was reading this, I was picking out the places where I was sure the story would get a good laugh from story time in a kindergarten or first grade class. Thanks, Flying Eye Books for the ARC!
June 17, 2015
Very absurd. Don't read to kids who are afraid of the dentist. And only half the book is about Danny. Not impressed.
October 27, 2015
Hippo and Crocodile attempt to alleviate fear of dentists and orthodontists.
February 19, 2016
Oh, this makes me laugh!
April 9, 2017
Absurd, but entertaining. I had fun reading the story, but it didn’t transition well. It was about a hippo, then all of a sudden it was about a crocodile, then it went back to the hippo.
I would rather read Doctor DeSoto, myself.
I would rather read Doctor DeSoto, myself.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews