Love love love! Whenever I tear up with children's book I know the message in the story is so important for children to grow up believing. Bean was perfectly fine shooting for ordinary but Bella had other plans. She didn't give up and ended up with something extraordinary and inspired Bean to do the same!

The illustrations in Bella and Bean make the book. They are beautiful! The story is good, and it has a relatable moral, but it feels a little underdeveloped. I do think children would like it, but it wouldn't be my first pick to buy for my classroom.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

The book was beautifully written. Overall, I did really enjoy it. Thank you for this advance reading copy!

I loved this. Two hippos are relaxing and thinking out loud about their life dreams. As they say, "the muddier the mud, the chattier the chat!" One of them wants to create a spa -- will it be successful, and will people come?
This book is sweet with such a wonderful message. It's such a great lesson-- we don't have to settle for just getting big!

Thanks to Pajama Press and NetGalley for the ARC! This book sends a great message to children to dream of big things they want to do when they grow up. The illustrations are vibrant and help bring the words to life. The story challenges the staus quo. It allows the reader to follow a hippo's story to achieve their dream with help along the way. Definitely a good message that I would love to read to my classroom!