The hippopotamus on the roof first made his appearance in the award-winning There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake (1980), written by Hazel Edwards and illustrated by Deborah Niland. This book has now attained classic status, and an updated version has been published to celebrate its thirtieth birthday, complete with a sparkly pink hippopotamus on the front cover, more strongly saturated colours, and one significant change to the text – Daddy no longer smacks his daughter; he just growls at her.

As well as the anniversary edition, Edwards and Niland have produced a new book to celebrate this significant milestone. The aptly named Hooray! There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Having a Birthday Party (Penguin, $24.95 hb, 32 pp) explores the excitement of preparing for and putting on a special celebration. The little girl has been replaced by a small boy, but the ageless hippopotamus is still on the roof, albeit a thinner version, despite his high-calorie diet.

Niland’s background colours are brighter, more varied and more exuberant, as befits a story about a party, but the solid organic shapes, patterning and strong black outlines of the original illustrations remain. Niland’s hippo has as much pizazz and charisma as he had thirty years ago, especially when dressed in feathers or belly-dancing on the roof. While the storyline does not have the same dynamic tension between the restrictions on the child and the freedom of her imaginary friend that made the original story resonate so strongly, Edwards and Niland are still in touch with childhood concerns. This book should generate a plethora of jungle-themed birthday parties and bring delight to a new generation of children.

Mem Fox and Kerry Argent have also produced much-loved picture story books, including Wombat Divine (1995) and Sleepy Bears (1999). Argent’s forte is depicting animals which, while anthropomorphised, cleverly maintain their animal nature. She taps into this talent in the illustrations for A Giraffe in the Bath (Penguin, $24.95 hb, 32 pp), which is co-written by Mem Fox and Olivia Rawson.

Argent’s watercolour illustrations are the standout in this hilarious book for the very young. She deftly portrays such incongruous images as a giraffe squashed into a bath, an embarrassed sheep in a shower, and a kangaroo on the loo reading a newspaper. Her skateboarding crocodile is all style, her hula-hooping hippo delightfully topsy-turvy, and there is something distinctly ‘Mae West’ about her wiggling walrus. In true Fox form, the rhyming text is rhythmical and rollicking, as it takes the reader through a series of increasingly unlikely scenarios, and Argent is definitely at her best as she portrays the more outrageous animal antics. This is an entertaining piece, designed to tickle funny bones and engage imaginations.

Award-winning author Sonya Hartnett is best known for angst-ridden novels for young adults. In the intriguing The Boy and the Toy (Penguin, $24.95 hb, 32 pp), her first picture book, Hartnett brings her considerable writing skills and inventive imagination to creating an unsettling story about friendship, love and jealousy. A small boy’s father builds him ‘the best toy in the world’ to look after him. At first all goes well, but gradually the toy’s relationship with the boy becomes more and more possessive, and ultimately downright unhealthy.

Lucia Masciullo’s textural illustrations are beautifully realised. There are echoes of Shaun Tan’s mechanistic imagery in her rendition of the overbearing toy, the lighthouse and the boat cum blimp that takes the boy’s father away. However, her domestic and natural landscapes are very much her own. There is an inviting warmth to her interiors, and a European sensibility to her composition and design, as curving lines compellingly draw the eye into her story world. Masciullo’s palette is muted but warm, and the main character – with his spiky, flyaway hair – is engaging. The Boy and the Toy is an un-usual picture book that works on many levels. It should provoke discussion, particularly among older readers, about the true nature of friendship.

Many people have fond memories of riding on merry-go-round horses. Flame Stands Waiting (Black Dog Books, $24.99 hb, 32 pp, 9781742030951), by Corinne Fenton and Sebastian Ciaffaglione, taps into these memories. It tells the story of a carousel horse called Flame who is often neglected because, unlike the other horses, he does not go up and down. However, a girl called Clara comes into his life, choosing him above all the others, and together they learn how to fly.

Fenton’s poetic text is perfectly pitched to capture the old-fashioned wonder of the carousel and the magic that friendship can bring. Ciaffaglione’s atmospheric illustrations convincingly present the historical era, the characters and the gloriously over-the-top ornateness of the carousel. The predominant use of greys and soft pastels in the backgrounds allow the gleaming shapes and bright colours to shine. There is a sculptural, tactile quality to his images, as though you could touch the horses, clamber aboard and, like Clara, set off on your own marvellous adventure.

Katrina Germein and Tamsin Ainslie’s picture book Littledog (Scholastic, $26.99 hb, 32 pp) is also about friendship, as a family holidaying at the beach is ‘adopted’ by a stray dog. This is an endearing tale about how an animal can inveigle its way into the hearts of family members, especially children. Germein’s text is matter-of-fact, but with a lilting cadence and a catchy refrain: ‘Littledog just wagged his tail. His whole bottom wagged too.’

Ainsley’s decorative illustrations include naïvely presented, static characters who consistently face front-on while their eyes swivel sideways, drawing the eye of the reader to the focal point of each image, which is usually the dog. The somewhat stilted presentation of figures, faces and objects is counterpointed by intricate patterning on clothes and fabric. These are highlighted in the beautiful, patchwork endpapers, with their Japanese-print themes. This is a gently engaging story about pets, families and friendship.

Just like pets, pirates are a recurring theme in children’s books and a firm favourite. An ABC of Pirates, by Caroline Stills and Heath Mc-Kenzie (Little Hare, $24.99 hb, 32 pp), joyously exploits this theme. The rollicking verses take the reader through the alphabet, identifying a wide range of pirate-related and other items. As with all good alphabet books, some things are obvious and others are more difficult to identify. The words in each verse beginning with the relevant letter are highlighted in bold and, for good measure, the objects are listed at the back of the book. A glossary is also included, covering more difficult pirate terms such as ‘buccaneer’, ‘doubloon’ and ‘galleon’.

McKenzie’s cartoon images burst from the page with energy and enthusiasm, as a group of young pirates cavort on their pirate ship, ride on cannons, clamber up masts and walk the plank. And that most difficult letter in any alphabet book presents no problems here – X, of course, marks the spot. Both Stills and McKenzie have a whimsical and sometimes cheeky sense of humour. While some of the verses are a little clunky, there is much to entertain in this latest addition to the alphabet stable. This is yet another picture book to befriend and take home.