We bought three book by nick greaves while travel in south Africa. We buy books for our three grandchildren( age 4,6,8) while travelling in South Africa last year. We have given them so many books through the years from around the world. They love these books so much. First the parents read to them,every night now the oldest reads to the younger ones. I wish the author writes more books for children.

My 9-year old son came home from school today very excited about this book, which his teacher had started reading to the class. He took out his wallet, counted his money, and asked, "Can we go on line and buy this book right now? I have enough of my own money to buy it." This is enough proof for me that kids love it.

The sub-title "And other tales from Africa" seems to suggest that this book was written for children, but it is fun to read for adults as well. Nick Greaves tells stories, tales, fables and legends from the African tribes about different animals and after each section gives facts about them. By doing this especially for tourists the book gives a general idea of the wildlife one might come across while traveling in Africa and furthermore the book supplies the not native speaker with useful vocabulary. The illustrations of Rod Clement are just as good as photos, sometimes even better, because good close-ups of mainly the small and nocturnal animals are quite rare. "When Hippo Was Hairy" was followed up by "When Lion Could Fly", which is highly recommendable, too.

Nick Greaves wrote and took all the pictures for this beautiful book. It depicts not only elephants, but other animals as well. It clearly explains about the wildlife in the park and goes further to explain the hard issues - culling (killing) elephants, ivory trade, and funding of the park. This is a book that will both look as good on your coffee table and is a pleasure to read. As a Zimbabwe guide in Hwange, Nick Greaves knows his elephants and this comes through clearly in the book. Highly recommended!

From the introduction of the book one can take that the author has written this book for children, but it is fun to read for adults as well. It is not only, that it gives an insight in the folk tales of Africa, it also introduces the reader to the African wildlife in a far more entertaining way then the normal guide book. The illustrations of Rod Clement are just as good as photos, sometimes even better, because good close-ups of mainly the small and nocturnal animals are quite rare. Nick Greaves tells stories, tales, fables and legends from the African tribes about different animals and after each section gives facts about them. By doing this especially for tourists the book gives a general idea of the wildlife one might come across while traveling in Africa and furthermore the book supplies the not native speaker with useful vocabulary. "When Lion Could Fly" follows up Nick Greaves earlier book of African tales "When Hippo Was Hairy", which is highly recommendable, too.