  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 06/01/2015 An important lesson on kindness is embedded in this rhyming story about a hyena whose giggle goes missing. Hyenas laugh at everything. But one day, Henry Hyena wakes up feeling blue. He doesn’t join in his buddies’ pranks, like teasing, chasing, and, above all, laughing at the other zoo animals. Definitely off his game, he visits Dr. Long, a wise old giraffe, and explains he doesn’t think things are funny anymore. When a goat tripped over a tree limb, for example, Henry simply felt sorry for him. Dr. Long explains that Henry’s problem isn’t a problem at all. He has learned that “laughing at others is cruel.” Smiling with understanding, Henry shows the other hyenas how the joy of kind deeds and genuine fun is better than laughing at others. The zoo setting, bright cartoonlike animals, and a typeface that changes color and size to emphasize parts of the narrative enliven this lesson. A good companion book would be Children’s Books: The Very Helpful Monsters (2014), by Sally Huss. - Copyright 2015 Booklist. School Library Journal - 06/01/2015 PreS-Gr 1—Henry Hyena is anxious. He normally loves a good belly laugh when something goes wrong, but now he's just not finding the mishaps of others to be funny. His friends can't get him to play or even to tease the other animals in the zoo. It's time to visit the wise old giraffe who tends to all the creatures. "Dr. Long," he worries, "my giggle is gone." Happily, Dr. Long diagnoses a case of empathy—"It's not that you're sick, and you're far from a fool," he explains. "You've just learned that laughing at others is cruel." Parents and teachers will appreciate the lesson imparted by this book's jaunty rhyming text, and children will relate to the animals whose pratfalls are made fun of by Henry's friends. There's plenty of humor here, too; readers will giggle at the computer-generated, colorful images of animals having a bad day. VERDICT Great for classrooms where teasing is an issue, and for readers who like a bit of animal absurdity.—Etta Verma, Library Journal - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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