Smiling Hippopotamus Colouring Page

This sheet has one hippo standing square to the viewer, mouth open in a big curved smile with no teeth showing, two round eyes each with a small highlight dot, and a wide snout with two oval nostrils sitting on top of it like a mask. Small rounded ears poke up from the head, each with a simple inner-ear line, and a short curled tail sticks out at the back. All four legs are planted flat on the ground, and each foot is finished off with a row of rounded toes. The background is left blank, so there is no sky, water or grass to colour, just the hippo itself.

That single focus is what makes this one worth printing. The head, body and each leg are drawn as big, generously enclosed shapes, so a child can stay inside the lines without much wrist control, which suits a hand that is still learning to hold a crayon steady. The smaller bits, the nostrils, the eyes, the toes on each foot, give a bit of fiddlier work for a child who wants more of a challenge once the big shape is filled in. With no scenery to distract, it is also an easy page to talk through: is the hippo grey, or pink, or purple today, and how many toes can you count on each foot.

Because the outlines are thick and the face has so few details, this is one of the easier sheets in the safari set and a good starting point for a beginner. A three or four year old can finish it in one sitting without help. A two year old will manage the body and head fine and may need a hand with the smaller nostril and toe shapes, and an older child who colours often may find it goes by quickly, since there is nothing else on the page to add to.