Bibliographic Information
Cannon, J. (1997). Verdi. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company.
Summary
This is a great story about a little yellow python named Verdi. Verdi will do anything not to grow up into a rude, boring, and lazy green adult. Verdi lives on a tropical island in a steamy jungle. His mother sends him out into the forest telling him to “grow up big and green—as green as the trees’ leaves.” Verdi loves his bright yellow skin with the bold stripes and tries many things to keep his skin from turning green. He is not in a hurry to grow up big because it looks very boring to him.
Verdi decides to look for some older snakes and ask them some questions. He climbs up to some branches where he finds Umbles, Aggie, and Ribbon. They are all being very lazy and don’t want to be disturbed by Verdi’s questions. Verdi can’t imagine being in a hurry to be lazy. He decides to move on and runs into Dozer. Dozer is snoring, and Verdi asks him to climb some trees with him. Dozer growls and tells him to take some laps around the jungle. Verdi thinks that the greens are not only lazy, but very rude as well.
There doesn’t seem to be any way that Verdi can keep his skin from peeling. He thinks that if he just keeps moving fast, he might be able to prevent his skin from becoming green. He tries many things, even scrubbing himself in the water where he is nearly eaten by a large bottom feeder. He slips away after he bites the fish on the nose. He lands in some mud, and decides to leave the mud on because it looks better than green to him. When the mud dries and cracks off, he is even greener than before.
Verdi climbs to the top of the tree and forgets he can fall down. He gets excited when he startles a flock of colorful birds, falls across a log on the forest floor, and ends up getting injured. The older snakes have to help him heal. While he is healing, he turns completely green. He learns a lot just watching things while he is healing.
When some little yellow snakes approach him one day, Verdi decides to ask them to climb a tree with him. They try forming some fancy figure eights. Verdi may be completely green now, but is still adventurous. He is just a bit more careful now about his stunts. Verdi learns that a slow, quiet life is not so bad after all.
Impressions
I thought this had an excellent storyline, and the illustrations were wonderful. The way the author told about the things the little snake did to keep his youth made me think of how people worry about keeping their youth too. I laughed at the description of the older snakes and how they got upset at the active younger one. Even though Verdi grows up to be a beautiful green tree python, he remains true to himself by retaining his youthful spirit. This is a lesson a lot of “boring and rude” adults could benefit from.
Reviews
Cannon (Stellaluna) is on a roll, her gift for creating memorable characters and scenes on glorious display in this tale of a feisty python hatchling. Vowing never to turn ""lazy, boring, or green"" like the older pythons, Verdi zips through the jungle, launching himself from tree branches in an attempt to outpace the inevitable and keep his bright yellow skin and sporty stripes. His elders fear Verdi's recklessness will be his undoing (""At this rate, he'll be lucky to make it to his first molt,"" bemoans one) and they watch his antics with alarm--and with a drop of nostalgia for their own glory days. Adulthood eventually catches up with the young hothead, of course, but in a resolution that is both wise and funny, Verdi comes to terms with maturity while maintaining his zest for life (""I may be big and very green, but I'm still me!""). Cannon's finely tempered prose is as exquisite as her luminous artwork. Here, each jewel like vista is marked by careful attention to detail and brilliant use of color--Verdi's jungle world is a symphony of green, from the delicate shade of a newly unfurled fern frond to richer tones of emerald and pine. Sharply focused foreground objects fade into slightly hazy backdrops, giving the acrylic-and-colored-pencil illustrations an almost three-dimensional depth. As a bonus, the book concludes with a graceful two-page note on snakes. Ages 4-10.
(n.d.). Verdi. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from
Janell Cannon, creator of the wildly popular Stellaluna, turns her attention from bats to snakes in Verdi. In this enchanting picture book, a bright yellow python with sporty stripes decides he doesn't want to turn green. Why grow up if that means turning lazy, boring, and green like the adult pythons Aggie, Umbles, and Ribbon?
One day, the zippy Verdi plummets to the ground. The elder threesome gently splint him to a branch and he listens to their stories of youthful daring with astonishment. They too were once exactly like him! In a stunning spread, Verdi listens to the forest come alive. Then he observes the moon wane and grow full again. All the while he grows healthy and green. He no longer attempts to scrape away his green skin; he discovers he can still be himself. The fun-loving python is last seen teaching two youthful yellow snakes spectacular figure eights.
The book concludes with two pages of snake notes that will appeal to teachers and parents. Children learn that a snake's skin is dry, not slimy as many believe. They learn that pythons lay eggs, the ingenious methods snakes employ to capture prey, why snakes are valued by humans, and more.
Inspired by her childhood in Minnesota, Janell Cannon recalled the hordes of garter snakes that surfaced in the springtime. She and her brother would gather up armfuls of them and bring them home to their lucky mother! Cannon was further intrigued by the perching habits and lovely color of the green tree pythons at the San Diego Zoo. She said, "The radical change of color that these snakes undergo from hatching time to adulthood also provided the vehicle for the main theme of the story -- fear of transition."
Cannon's award-winning first book, Stellaluna, celebrated bats and friendship. Her second book, Trupp, also garnered praise for its weaving of the fictional and the real. In Verdi, Cannon has crafted another treasure. Its canny evocation of what it's like to change, grow up, and grow old is memorably brought to life. This is a charmer of a book without the snake oil of artifice. Verdi grows comfortable in his own skin and remains true to himself. Great insights -- and they are rendered with poignancy. Cannon delivers yet another artful gem that is sure to appeal to readers and critics alike.
Field, Barbara. (1997). Verdi. BookPage Children’s Interview. Retrieved from http://www.bookpage.com/9705bp/childrens/verdi.html
Library Use
Librarians could use this book for use in teaching science in the library, specifically for studying animals of the rainforest. It has a good storyline, but also teaches facts about green pythons and other animals found in rainforests. It would be great to compile multiple books and resources about rainforest animals for students to do research on. Students could choose an animal they want to know more about and report what they learn as well.
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