Hip and Hop, Don't Stop!

Review By Bethy Dereje

Jef Czekaj's Hip and Hop, Don't Stop revisits the classic tale of the tortoise and the hare with a contemporary twist. The quirky children's picture book features Hip, a young green turtle and Hop, a boisterous hare. While Hip performs incredibly slowly, Hop zips through her rhymes, leaving her friends lost in a blur of words. Unfortunately, their respective communities do not interact and each lives without knowledge of the other. The animals of Slowjamz Swamp and Breakbeat Meadows go about their lives without realizing how similar they really are, until the day these two endearing characters both stumble upon a poster for a rap-off. In keeping with the innocent and nondiscriminatory desire for companionship that is customarily associated with children, Hip and Hop forge a relationship built on mutual respect and eagerness to share in the music they love. Yes, they do "rep" their neighborhoods--and interestingly enough face pressure from their respective communities to question their desire for befriending an outsider--but they do not let their differences become obstacles to their burgeoning friendship. In the end, Hip and Hop prove to everyone at the culminating rap-off that collaboration and friendship, rather than judgment and skepticism, are the factors that go into putting on a fantastic and winning show.

In addition to the novel renewal of the familiar story, Czekaj's vibrant illustrations really make this book stand out from the rest.  The text itself is peppered with color, red and green, to indicate when the reader should read slowly for Hip's raps and quickly for Hop's. This distinction of color and of speed is particularly educational for the younger audience. Perhaps most memorably, many pages have adorably clever and hidden allusions to prominent figures in hiphop (e.g. Biz Sharkie, Notorious P.I.G. and Ludafish to name a few) that add an additional layer of engagement with parents. What's more, a particular aspect of the plot that strikes true to the ingrained coolness of hiphop is illustrated through the attitudes of both Hip and Hop in regards to their own identities. While each consistently shows signs of mutual respect for the other, a value that is predictably a theme as it is in most children's books, our heroes additionally bear no shame in their backgrounds. Their identities are depicted consistently in relation to their neighborhoods and even in their final performance.  Their love of hiphop results in self-love, empowerment and love of their community.

"In the field and in the swamp, listen to our beat. Our beat goes BOMP!"