From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2–"Fragility was a solid piece of work." So begins Lester's tale of a high-strung hippo whose incredibly thin skin belies her great strength. Oversensitive Fragility takes offense at even the most gracious comments and usually ends up breaking down in tears, which finally forces her friends to avoid her altogether. It takes real insults from a bully elephant, Rudy, to teach her to be as strong on the inside as she is on the outside, and he learns a thing or two as well. The punchy story line will keep children laughing, and Munsinger's characteristic watercolor illustrations bring the tale to life, making Lester's creatures all the more entertaining and enjoyable. Children may recognize characters like these in themselves and in their very own classrooms.–Julie Roach, Malden Public Library, MA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 2. Despite her sturdy size and strength, Fragility the Hippo is a quivering bundle of insecurities. She perceives friends' innocent compliments as insults and quickly disintegrates into sobbing self-pity. It's no surprise that her friends grow weary of her theatrics and distance themselves. Then lonely Fragility stands up to the neighborhood bully, Rudy the Elephant, and the encounter gives her the confidence and perspective to hear sweetness rather than slights in her friends' remarks. Some children may have trouble following Fragility's delusional leaps as she twists compliments into insults, but Lester enhances the basic story about handling emotions with a satisfying slapstick humor that's beautifully extended in Munsinger's hilarious, wildly expressive illustrations of Fragility in all her moods. This is a good choice for read-alouds, but prepare for a chorus of listeners joining in with Fragility's whining refrain: "You hurt my feeeeelings!" Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
The visual humor and the many opportunities for group interaction may win the book its own cadre of storytime fans.


Book Description
Fragility was a solid piece of work. But despite her sturdy exterior, Fragility was fragile. Anything and everything hurt her feelings. In the most benign compliment, Fragility heard an insult. No one could even say she looked nice without evoking images of big, squishy cupcakes—since they are also nice—and causing Fragility to flop on the ground and weep. Fragility"s friends stop speaking to her for fear of another fit, but Rudy, a very rude bully, has other ideas. In the face of real insults, will Fragility finally learn to take a compliment?

ANNOTATION

It looks like trouble when Fragility, a hippopotamus whose feelings are easily hurt, meets Rudy, a rude elephant, on the soccer field.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Fragility was a solid piece of work. But despite her sturdy exterior, Fragility was fragile. Anything and everything hurt her feelings. In the most benign compliment, Fragility heard an insult. No one could even say she looked nice without evoking images of big, squishy cupcakes—since they are also nice—and causing Fragility to flop on the ground and weep. Fragility's friends stop speaking to her for fear of another fit, but Rudy, a very rude bully, has other ideas. In the face of real insults, will Fragility finally learn to take a compliment?

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The team behind Hooway for Wodney Wat introduce another memorable character's struggles in Hurty Feelings by Helen Lester, illus. by Lynn Munsinger. The not-so-ironically-named Fragility may be one tough hippo, but she can't take a compliment. When told she has sturdy legs, she cries, "You hurt my feeeeelings!... A piano has sturdy legs. So you think I have piano legs." Her dramatics cause her friends to snub her, until an encounter with a bullying elephant helps her realize her overreactions. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Fragility's name describes her personality perfectly. Her feelings can be hurt by almost anything, even a compliment. Her behavior is even more strange because she is an appealing but extremely solid-looking hippo. Her friends, fearful of hurting her, finally stop speaking to her altogether. One day, however, she joins a pick-up soccer game, playing well until Rudy, and extremely rude elephant, arrives and announces that he will eat the goal for lunch. At first Fragility is insulted by everything Rudy says, but she finally gets in her own jabs and hurts his feelings, in an amusing exchange. Then she calms him down, reassured that she herself really is "a solid piece of work." The story gives Munsinger the chance to create a comic series of portraits of a bulky hippo acting just like a young girl. The contrast of appearance and behavior makes for delightful viewing. The ink and watercolor sketches bring us a whole merry band of animals whose behaviors add to the visual fun. And of course there is a lesson taught in the story as well. 2004, Walter Lorraine Book/Houghton Mifflin Company, Ages 4 to 8.

School Library Journal