The Secret Rhino Society

Three unique friends—Hudson the hippopotamus, Fran the worm, and, most unexpectedly, Jean the lightbulb—are enthralled by rhinoceroses. They’re so enchanted that they decide to form a secret society to study their favorite animal, and eat sandwiches. One day during a society meeting, a delivery is made by none other than Ivy the rhinoceros, but dressed in a yellow flower-print shirt and donning a wide brim sun hat, she is not the commanding figure the friends expected. After their initial shock, they invite her to join for sandwiches, and Ivy is so impressed by their sandwiches that she suggests they convert their secret society into a sandwich shop open to all. The story is fun and mirrors the title: just as the friends discover rhinos are not as they expected, readers will discover that the Secret Rhino Society is in the end an open-to-all sandwich shop. What really makes this a remarkable book are the three-dimensional, hand-built sets used in the illustrations. A miniature, picturesque theater and the friend’s haphazard but charming clubhouse are both delightful. These sets are enhanced with fun digital touches—observant readers will notice, for example, that the rhino-print endpapers match the rhino-print blanket used by the friends to build a hut.