“Every year the Other Animals hold a Grand Parade with prizes for the most beautiful. The Warthogs don’t even bother entering — mud wrestling isn’t on the program.” From the creator of the beloved illustrated classic, The Waterhole, comes a story about finding inner beauty, and learning that our wishes are not always fulfilled in ways we expect. Ngiri Mdogo is the smallest warthog in a big family of African warthogs. They’re not very pretty, but they can put on a great mud-wrestling contest! Unfortunately the beautiful animals across the river don’t appreciate mud wrestling — they have a grand parade that shows off how stunning they look, and they tease the warthogs for being so ugly. Ngiri wishes he wasn’t so small because he is tired of being teased, and he wishes that Warthogs weren’t so ugly and the other animals weren’t so pretty. When Ngiri is given a set of magic drums he is sure his wishes are about to come true, but the way his problem is eventually solved is not as he expects — and everyone learns a lesson along the way. Graeme Base’s imagination, enthusiasm, energy, and sense of humour will astound you yet again in this gloriously illustrated book. A wonderfully child-friendly picture book with fable-style storytelling perfect for reading aloud or as a first reader. In true Graeme Base style there is an added surprise at the end: a fun look-and-find element in the illustrations. The stunning African scenery, the African magic and fantasy element, and the warm and endearing characters will draw the reader in, and the story culminates in a wild, funny, andvisually impressive grand finale over several spreads that proves that Graeme Base just keeps getting better and better with every book.