1 Jun 2017

THE STORY OF THE SNAIL WHO DISCOVERED THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING SLOW.

THE STORY OF THE SNAIL WHO DISCOVERED THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING SLOW by LUIS SEPULVEDA.

BACK COVER BLURB: In Dandelion Land, a young snail can’t stop asking his friends awkward questions, such as: why are we so slow – and why can’t we all have our own names? When he is finally banished from the snail community because of this, he is forced to travel the world alone. As he explores in his oh-so-slow way, the snail makes new friends and goes on a series of adventures, gaining wisdom from every new encounter. But when he finds out his friends are in danger, he decides to rush home to warn them. Will he get there in time to save them?

FIRST SENTENCE {ONE}: In a meadow close to your home or mine, there lived a colony of snails.

MEMORABLE MOMENT {PAGE 74}: When the pale light of dawn filtered into the wood, Rebel and his friends emerged from the covering of leaves they had slept under. What they saw made them very sad: all that was left of the snails who had not buried themselves were empty shells.(Contains a spoiler, simply scroll over darkened text to reveal all of my Memorable moment. TT)

SOURCE: An Alma Jnr Book.

READ FOR: No applicable.

MY THOUGHTS: Whilst like most other people I go out of my way to avoid standing on one. However if anyone had ever told me I'd feel such turmoil over the potential fate of a snail I'd never have believed them and yet, here I was, anxious to know what would become of the snail who discovered the importance of being slow.

An enjoyable tale for young readers - the publishers recommend it as being particularly suitable for those aged 9 to 11 though as an older (much older) reader I too found it enjoyable .

Readable on so many levels. Not only is this a story of friendship, of what it means to be different, its also a story with an environmental message that would make a wonderfully engaging resource for the classroom.



11 comments:

Kelly said...

I'm not a fan of snails (whether the garden variety OR the culinary), but I can't help but be charmed by the sound of this tale. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Tracy,

I love the vibrant cover art of this book, but feel that it would probably suit a younger child better, especially if the title wasn't quite so long!

My great nephew (20 months) is going to be an animal person I think, so I am noting books like this for a few years down the line. His favourite day out is to the Wildlife Park and he sounds so cute when he says "Armadillo" and "Spiky Porcupine".

He is definitely going to be a 'question' child too, so hopefully there are similar books to this which will teach him patience!

Thanks for sharing, it was great to chat with you again and I hope that you are feeling much better now :)

Yvonne

Alexia561 said...

Sounds like an adorable read, no matter what the reader's age! I'm not a big fan of snails either, but somehow they seem cuter when in a book. :)

Brian Joseph said...

It is amazing how we can empathize and relate to these fictional creatures.

This sounds like a really nice book for young readers.

Anonymous said...

Tracy,
Regardless of a reader's age,
what you said in your review
about a story of friendship
and how the book can be read
and enjoyed at many different
levels struck a deep chord with
me. And I will add it to my list.
Raven

Melliane said...

yes it looks nice

Suko said...

Lovely review! This book sounds charming.

Have a great weekend, Tracy!

The Bookworm said...

I like the message this one sends!

Literary Feline said...

I do like the sound of this one, Tracy. I don't especially like snails in real life, but in a book, I think I could care for them. :-)

Stephanie@Fairday's Blog said...

I hadn't heard of this one before. It sounds like a book I will enjoy. I know at school we are always looking for great books to share with the kiddos. Thanks for letting me know about it! :)

Natasha said...

Oh this sounds like it's right up my street! I love any kind of story that deals with friendship, looking at life differently, gaining wisdom and generally tackling hardships in life through clever symbology, and I find that some children's books do that really well, and this sounds like it's one of them so will have to try and find a copy of this! A great review here Tracy! - Tasha