Hardcover. New Milford CT, Roaring Brook Press, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. Illustrated in color by Schwartz. This amusing picture book features Darlene, a relatively svelte hippo, and a cast of other dressed animals in three connected stories. With stars in her eyes, Darlene signs up for theater class and lands a role as "the Flood" in Noah's ark. On opening night she enters, entangles her feet in her long gown, and missing her target, flings a basin of water onto the critic in the first row. His review? "?a drenching, yet refreshing experience. Miss Darlene's performance was especially exciting." Two more plays follow, a science fiction drama in which Darlene flubs her lines, and Sleeping Beauty, which finds the hippo falling asleep onstage. The critic raves "A STAR IS BORN," and the story ends with Darlene's contented smile. Brightened with delicate washes, the fine, clean ink drawings create a series of charming, often droll scenes.
