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Young Verdi doesn’t want to grow up big and green. He likes his bright yellow skin and sporty stripes. Besides, all the green snakes he meets are lazy, boring, and rude. When Verdi finds a pale green stripe stretching along his whole body, he tries every trick he can think of to get rid of it--and ends up in a heap of trouble. Despite his efforts, Verdi turns green, but to his delight, he discovers that being green doesn’t mean he has to stop being himself. “Cannon is on a roll, her gift for creating memorable characters and scenes on glorious display in this tale of a feisty python hatchling.”--Publishers Weekly
Lexile Measure: AD620L (What's this?)
Hardcover: 56 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (April 1, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0152010289
ISBN-13: 978-0152010287
Product Dimensions: 10 x 0.4 x 10 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #13,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #10 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Reptiles & Amphibians #1207 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction
Age Range: 4 - 7 years
Grade Level: Preschool - 3
It's about time someone wrote a kids book where the snake is a hero, not a villain! (There have been others, but they are few and far between)...Verdi was the best kids snake story I've ever read. Being a reptile keeper, I really appreciate this little story! What a great idea for a story PLUS snake facts at the end, teaching kids about the green tree python. More books like this would be excellent. Kids need to learn to appreciate snakes, and stories like this show that snakes aren't bad guys!! A++++++++++++++++++!!!!
Verdi is a young yellow python who doesn't understand why the adult (green) pythons are such killjoys. He is playful and daring, until he hurts himself doing a stunt. The older pythons help nurse him back to health, while Verdi learns that once they, too were young and wild like he was.The book is marvelous. It is extremely readable for young (3 - 6) year olds, and the art work is beautiful, with vivid colors and expressive characters (even for a snake!). Best of all, the story line is appropriate, with a message that is easily understood (be yourself; we were all young once) without being preachy. A wonderful children's book.
Reading some of the other reviews on this book, it's been interesting to get some other perspectives on the story.Fundamentally the story is simple. Verdi the baby snake zipps around happily, bored by the big green (complaining) adults. In his amusing quest to remain yellow and striped (young) he gets injured. The greens (adult snakes) take care of him by straping him to a branch so that he can heal. During his forced convalescence, he notices for the first time some of the magical beauty about him. He also learns that the big greens were once young and reckless also. Their response to the injuries that they had suffered was to want to live "the quiet life". By the time that Verdi heals, he too is big and green. At the end of the story he comes across a couple of fidgety young yellow snakes (very much as he was) and ends up playing with them (although being a bit more cautious). After all, he may be big and green, but "I'm still me".This is a great book on several different levels. First, putting the snake as the protagonist is a refreshing change. The snake is a creature with a home, the jungle, and the portrayal makes for a less scary oportunity for children to learn some snake facts. The illustrations also help with the educational aspect, being so inviting that you are really drawn into them. Also, it is a story about growth and choices.The language is indeed very direct and simple. In reading the comments of another reviewer, I noted the reviewer's estimation of the writing as being not up to par. I would have to dissagree, although from a less experienced perspective as the reviewer. I feel that the voice of the snake is appropriately somewhat "young". Also, I feel that this is a book where the language is more of a narration to the amazing pictures, but that it works very well in this case. When I had the opportunity to read this to my son's kindergarten class, the children were all so "into" the story that they had a hard time staying on their mats. The illustrations work with the story. At the start, the colors are very beautiful, but when the story slows down as Verdi heals, the illustrations come alive with detail. Just as the story is making the point that when you slow down you can notice things you didn't see before, you end up spending a lot of time seeing the detail finding the little hidden critters in the jungle.The story is about attitude, growth and wisdom, beautifully illustrated. Verdi learns about the beauty about him, that he only notices when he slows down to observe it, as well as the consequences of reckless behaviour. He also learns that turning green (growing older) doesn't mean that he can't enjoy his life, in fact finding wonderful new things that he hadn't known about before. Through it all, Verdi maintains his sense of wonder and fun. Can we hope for more from life?
As an education major, I have utilized many books in my quest to become a teacher. This book has received the greatest response from my pre-service teaching of students. The book is full on educational, and moral building material. At the end of the book, the author has included a two page fact sheet about snakes.
i work in the public library system here in st. louis, mo, and i almost never get a chance to put "verdi" on the shelve. why? because it's ALWAYS checked out! both parents and children love this coming of age story about a young snake who, like everyone else in life, is afraid of becoming "old" and "boring". once he realizes that with age comes wisdom, he's much happier as an older, greener snake than a younger, more yellow snake. i read this book whenever i get a chance, and because of the kids at the library, that's not very often!
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