Hugo Hippo and Bella Bird are best buddies—but that doesn’t mean they have to be exactly the same. Does it?

Hugo is feeling pretty unique. Bella wants to be unique, too—she wants to be unique, exactly like Hugo! Hmmm. Maybe Bella doesn’t quite get “unique.” And how can Hugo be unique if Bella is copying everything he does?

Hugo and Bella find themselves in a friendly face-off in this cheerful follow-up to I Don’t Want to Be a Pea, which Kirkus Reviews called a “charming story of compromise.” And whether you’ve been the copycat or the copycatted, you’ll identify with the simpatico pair’s search for distinction.

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Reviews:

"Bonwill works the benefits of both cooperation and individuality into this second outing for Hugo the hippo and his tiny buddy, Bella the bird. Attempting to affirm his unique talents while getting ready for a water ballet, Hugo becomes increasingly irritated as Bella—complimenting and agreeing with him all the while—imitates his every move. No sooner does he accuse her of being a copycat (“I am not a copycat. I am a bird”) than onlookers rush up to proclaim the two “amazing synchronized swimmers!” This prompts a celebratory visit to the ice-cream parlor, where both order the same dish—and then Bella changes hers, “to be unique!” Just as the all-dialogue storyline resembles one of Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie relationship dramas, the animals in Rickerty’s big, simple illustrations are drawn in broad, expressive strokes and placed against minimally detailed backgrounds. An emotionally nuanced and funny illustration of imitation being a form of flattery. "—Booklist