Veronica by Roger Duvoisin (Bodleian Children’s Books)

If you’ve not heard or seen Roger Duvoisin’s work by now, where have you been?

The mid century, Swiss-born American author and illustrator is probably best known for his series of stories about ‘Petunia‘ the goose and ‘Veronica‘ the hippopotamus.

This, the third title from Bodleian Children’s Books, Veronica is set to be a bestseller once again.

With a mix of his signature coloured spreads and raw pen and ink illustrations, Duvoisin creates a compelling visual platform for his stories and one that stands alone from any other artist.

The original vintage palette and stylised images gave us a warm, fuzzy feeling whilst reading about the exploits of this hilarious hippo.

Veronica wants to be different, she wants to stand out from the crowd and to get noticed.

And boy does she get noticed…

Injected with humour and empathy, this hippo on the hunt for fame gets a little more than she bargained for, when she stumbles upon a bustling city.

Absolutely nothing gets lost in the monochrome spreads, in fact the black and white images really highlight the level of intricate detail and line work that Duvoisin is famed for.

Veronica soon learns that the city isn’t a particularly friendly or accommodating place for a lonesome hippo.

She upsets the policeman, tries to sleep in the wrong places and demolishes the contents of the cart belonging to the man selling vegetables.

And what happens when this overzealous hippo finds out that being different isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?