Veronica on Petunia's Farm

Veronica

by Roger Duvoisin

VERONICA, THE VERY conspicuous hippopotamus, is happy to move to Mr. Pumpkin’s farm. There will be so many animals to gossip with! But the other animals do not return Veronica’s hearty “Good morning!” And they say nasty
things about her. Her feelings hurt, Veronica hides in the barn for a whole week—the animals spy on her as she wastes away and looks morose. Feeling guilty, the animals offer gifts to cheer her up, and when she finally joins them in the barnyard, they see the biggest smile ever on Veronica’s face. First published in 1962, this sequel to Caldecott Medalist Duvosin’s Veronica captures with humor and an upbeat conclusion the real-life dynamics often faced by a new child in school.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Roger Antoine Duvoisin (August 28, 1900 – June 1980) was a Swiss-born American writer and illustrator, best known for children's picture books. He won the 1948 Caldecott Medal for picture books and in 1968 he was a highly commended runner-up for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award for children's illustrators.

Reviews

[Amara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is sooo great for showing children how hard it is to be different and unaccepted. And how great it is to embrace people who are different from you. Though written in 1962, I think this book is so relevant to our policital and social landscape we are currently living in.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet way to help children come to an understanding of the hurt that can be caused when someone is excluded simply because they look or act differently than others. I loved the fact that the animals were all touched when they realized that their actions had caused such pain in another being and they immediately went to work to make it right. A great companion to my favourite Petunia book!

[Sabine Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

i am in SHAMBLES. i had to read the korean version of this for class but like omg why is this children’s book so mf sad. i see the broader implication of how people will draw conclusions on a person based on looks alone and how no one actually cares about you unless you are sick and dying lmao. anyways.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the archived copy on openlibrary.org.

Oh gosh I would've loved this when I was a girl. I always enjoy stories about prejudiced people coming to their senses. I used to care less whether the motivation was plausible.

And yes, it's *that* Petunia. But it's the farm, only, really; the goose hasn't an individual role.

[Nicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has a good moral lesson, but takes a while to get to it. It might be scary for some young readers when the hippo gets so sick.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the art a lot. And maybe I'm overthinking it, but this seems like a problematic "savior" tale, none of the animals liked her until they had the chance to save her. Hmm.

[Stephanie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great example of how exclusion can hurt others.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story has a great lesson to be learned from it. It is about a hippopotamus named Veronica. She goes to live on a farm, and when she first arrives she thinks it is beautiful. When she tries to become friends with the other animals, they ignore her because she is different. Veronica decides that the farm is not so beautiful after all, and she is not happy there. She begins to get sick and eventually doesn't even come out of her house any more. After a week, the other animals begin to wonder about Veronica, and they finally go check on her. When they realize how sick she is they begin to bring her some of their food to help her get better. After she is feeling better, the animals finally realize that Veronica is very sweet so they all become friends.

After reading this book I would have students fill out a sandwich worksheet that deals with topic, supporting sentences, and conclusions. On one piece of bread they write the topic, and on the other piece of bread they write the conclusion. On the toppings of the sandwich, they write the details.

I would also use Sketch-to-Stretch with this book. The students would sketch their response to the story. Their picture doesn't have to be a scene from the story, but it should depict the lesson the story teaches or how it makes the student feel. It could also be a relating the story to the student's life.

[Sarah A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book with a great lesson. Veronica is the new animal on the farm and is very excited about everything. The other farm animals all say mean things about her to each other and ignore her when she talks to them because she is different - for she is a hippo. The story continues and ends happily with the animals all becoming worried about her being ill (from lack of friends) and they look after her and make friends.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Veronica the hippo has a hard time with the farm animals at Mr. Pumpkins farm. The farm animals treat her unkind, until they think she is sick. They all pitch in to make Veronica feel better and she does thanks to their changed attitude.

[Ham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember liking the Petunia books. This one wasn't particularly clever...or interesting.

[Jamil · Rating 2 out of 5]

like most sequels, just a little disappointing.