Veronica [Hardcover]

Roger Duvoisin (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Veronica, a hippopotamus who wants to stand out from the herd and be famous, travels to the big city where she indeed does stand out. Causing traffic jams, blocking sidewalks, and devouring a pushcart vendor’s vegetables in one big gulp, Veronia is arrested and jailed. How she discovers that there is no place like home is told with warm humor and sublimely mirthful illustrations that are great fun to share with a young child.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (January 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375835660
• ISBN-13: 978-0375835667
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.3 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,152,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Hippopotamuses can sometimes be very conspicuous.", August 25, 2006

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Veronica (Hardcover)

Veronica, a hippo, refuses to be ignored, even though she is lost among all the other hippopotamuses that live on the riverbank, parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, brothers and sisters, all floating along, blending into one large mass. Deciding to make her mark on the world, Veronica walks away one day, leaving her family behind, determined to be noticed. After a long, lonely trek, she comes upon a city teeming with people and automobiles, horns honking, all the noises of a busy metropolis; best of all, "there was not another hippopotamus anywhere". Unprepared for the problems of the city, Veronica is somewhat nonplussed by the crowds, the traffic, the noise, nowhere to rest, nothing to eat at hand. Unfortunately, everywhere Veronica goes, trouble follows, angry people yelling at her to get out of the way, angry, holding up traffic and causing any number of problems for busy city dwellers.

Sadly, Veronica's great adventure goes awry in spite of her best intentions and she is pushed and pulled into jail, a small building much too tiny for her huge body. Luckily, a kindly elderly lady comes to Veronica's rescue, realizing that Veronica is ready to return home, having had her fill of city life. The lady has Veronica transported home, where she is welcomed heartily. Veronica has been missed. The weary hippo is content to be among family and friends, captivating them each evening with her wild tales of the city. Her yearning for individuality has catapulted Veronica into an unfamiliar and unfriendly world where she learns the value of belonging. It's all right to go home, her memories a source of entertainment for them all. Luan Gaines/2006.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Veronica review, April 14, 2008

By 

C. Grant - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Veronica (Hardcover)

Fun and entertaining book to read and look at the pictures. My son likes this book and usually chooses it for his bedtime story.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the egocentric in all of us, February 14, 2006

By 

Camille "at the BookMoot!" (Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Veronica (Hardcover)

Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

Veronica frets about her anonymity amidst her fellow hippopotamuses. She longs to be noticed. She leaves her familiar riverbank and walks for many days until she reaches a city. Here she is "conspicuous" but after the initial novelty has worn away, she is left with no where to sleep, nothing to eat and finds herself in jail. Thank goodness for little old ladies in these stories. As in Babar, one rides to the rescue and sees to it that Veronica is returned to her old home where the hippopotamus is a legend for her exploits in the city.
Roger Duvoisin originally published Veronica in 1961. The book has been reissued.