Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140540717 ISBN 13: 9780140540710

Publisher: Puffin Books, 1992

Percy Short is a hippo and his friend Percy is a giant pelican and both feel self-concious about their size. So they decide to leave the African swamp lands in search of the Pingo Pongo Tree, whose leaves can make their wishes come true.

From Publishers Weekly:

Percy the pygmy hippo and Cuthbert the "absolutely ENORMOUS pelican" are the best of friends. Although the other animals consider their physical peculiarities a liability, the two see only the best in each other. They set off to find the enchanted Pingo-Pongo tree--"whoever eats a leaf, can have one wish come true"--hoping to be transformed into more socially acceptable sizes. When the friends are forced to separate in the desert, Cuthbert returns in the nick of time to save Percy from a band of marauding nomads. Finally locating the Pingo-Pongo tree, the only wish the pair have is to be home among friends. Upon their return all of their friends and relations perceive a tremendous difference in the two creatures, which they attribute to the tree's magic: like beauty, normalcy is in the eye of the beholder. Jenkin-Pearce's ( Catch It If You Can ; The Animal Fair ) cartoony characters are sparkling and fresh, and their escapades are totally beguiling. Readers are left with the hope that future adventures lie in store for this not-so-odd couple. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- Jenkin-Pearce uses pastel watercolors and jiggly lines to produce lively cartoon illustrations. Unfortunately, her storytelling skills are not so adroit. Percy, a tiny hippo, and Cuthbert, an enormous pelican, are unhappy about their sizes and set off together to find the Pingo-Pongo tree with its wish-producing leaves. After dealing with man-eating leopards and traveling gypsies, they find the fabled tree, but only one leaf remains. They discover that all they really want is to go home; they have not even thought of their problems on the journey. Happy family and friends welcome them back, exclaiming, "What a difference finding that Pingo-Pongo tree has made to you." The rambling narrative, seemingly pointless adventures, and stereotypical characters make for a hopelessly muddled, if well-intended, fable. --Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.