The Snail and the Whale: An adventurous rhyming story from the creators of The Gruffalo

Bought as a present (for my cousins daughter’s child) and has already become a beloved book to cuddle up to their mum with.Sturdy and should be long lasting. Bright and engaging. Feel good storyline.

Julia Donaldson/Axel Scheffler books are works of art. The stories are written beautifully, rhyming with a rhythm that sets the pace. This ensures that as an adult I do not get bored reading the same stories over and over again as the more familiar the story becomes the more I can work on my expression and how I deliver giving me almost as joyful an experience as that of my son listening to them. I feel excited when he brings me a book and then we can have a short bonding session over the story before he goes off to play again. The books describe simple everyday scenes and experiences that a child might encounter helping them make sense of the world around them, mixed with magical characters like dragons, witches, Santa etc.Alex Schefflers artwork is beautiful complements the stories perfectly. The same characters often pop up in different books, whether it be the Gruffalo Child’s stick man in his own story or simply a squirrel and a frog. This helps my son who is fifteen months old develop his own narrative. He does not understand the words I am reading but gets plenty from the rhythm and my intonation whilst building his own story and understanding from the pictures, he is always pointing different characters out to me or finding them when I ask where they are. He loves books and I think that these books enhance a joy of reading and learning. He brings the books to me time and time again.This story has fast become one of my personal favourite Juliua Donaldson books. My son loves having me read to him and because he is not speaking yet cannot tell me what it is about the book, but as we turn the pages of the different scenes from around the world I can see that it has a very special meaning and fascination for him, making it a journey of discovery for me too. Perhaps one day he might tell me what was so special for him or maybe he won't remember. But right now, we're enjoying the magic.

...this time featuring a 𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆 snail + a rather 𝐁𝐈𝐆 humpback whale, with a general mix of this & that in between!One of our favourites.The ‘READ SAMPLE’, ‘PREVIEW’ & current stock images above give an idea of the content, including the inimitable artwork from 𝗔𝘅𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗿.From the back cover:🐌~ ‘…“How I long to sail!”Said the tiny snail.A snail hitches a ride with a whale and they head off to see the world.But disaster strikes when the whale is beached in a bay.Can the tiny snail think of a plan big enough to save him?’ooOooFirst published 2003; the paperback edition I received on my order is from 2016.Measuring roughly 28 cm x 25 cm, the whale has a ‘wet-look’ finish on the colourful card cover, which is offset by the shiny silver foil finish that glistens in the change of light.Inside are 32 good quality, semi-shiny finish pages, the story running over 30, in double-page spread format.The aforementioned artwork is particularly atmospheric in this tale and offers great scope for further discussion with that ‘the more you look; the more you see’. The accompanying text could benefit from being a bit bolder, I feel, especially on the darker backgrounds, but it is nevertheless typical JD style, packing oodles of descriptive words into the rhyme to challenge the reciter!We are reminded (especially the gardeners among us!) that despite its size, the snail left:...‘a silvery trail that looped and curledAnd said...’Lift wanted around the world’ (in perfect handwriting!)More complex words include:~ slithered~ immensely~ shimmering~ enormous~ towering~ fiery~ foamed and frolicked and sprayed and splashed~ feathery~ hideous~ zigzag lightning~ zigging and zooming~ earsplitting~ moaned~ fetching~ squirting and sprayingLater in the story, the snail leaves another silvery message in a prominent place...and it is ALL to the rescue!ooOoo~ ‘For all at Hillhead Primary School, Wick (JD)’, as mentioned on the very last page.She visited the school in 2003.

My daughter is a big fan of her books so we have a collection at home. This is probably my favourite, I like the flow of the story, the rhyming words, the message to inspire travel and adventure, and the beautiful illustrations throughout. We like the film version too!

My little girl loved this book, it’s lovely and has so many words for learning. I would highly recommend it if you love Julia Donaldson.

We love this book, it's a favorite. I've been trying to buy it to gift to a friend, but I've had to return it three times because each book is damaged in the same way.They are warped and won't close properly, they like have been stored badly. Three copies in exactly the same way. I'm going to have to give up and buy one from a bookshop. It's not good enough to give as a gift.

Out of all the Julia Donaldson books we have bought, this is my personal favourite, and my daughter loves it too.I feel the vast world it depicts through the whales journey make it feel much ‘bigger’ than some of her other books, despite being a similar length. I find this adventure lends itself to much more vivid and interesting illustrations which of course is great for the little ones. The underlying message is a good one as always with her stories including promoting unlikely friendships, pursuing our dreams, and how anyone can make a difference in the world no matter their background. Oh and some nice nods to the impact of human behaviour on our planet.The rhyming structure is a little more straightforward, than say ‘Tiddler’, (which I also love due to its scope and sense of adventure) but this isn’t a downside, and is still very pleasing and snappy to read out loud. 5 stars!!!(Sturdy board book version has held up very well over the last 2 years since purchase)

This is a classic story for every child. It is the tale of a snail and a whale, the whale helps the snail by allowing him to travel the world on his fin and the snail helps the whale when he is beached on a shore by asking a group of school children to help. It is a story of adventure with a great message: no matter how small you may feel, you can change somebody else's life.Only 4 stars because although of a great quality and with fantastic illustration (even beautiful on some pages) the book itself is a little small. Which means the text is a bit small and difficult (but possible) to read on the page where the whale travels to the deep blue see with the snail on it's fin.My son requests this book time and time again. I recommend other's get this book too, but in hindsight I would have bought the larger paperback.Pros- engaging story- beautiful illustration- great message- quality bookCons- size is a little too small - would recommend buying the a larger version or paperback.

Il libro è in inglese ed alcuni termini non sono facilissimi per chi non conosce bene la lingua, comunque è davvero ottimo e la storia è bellissima oltre ad avere una morale. Il libro perfetto per chi ha iniziato ad insegnare l'inglese ai bambini e che ora vuole portare il livello ad un gradino più alto.

A board book just the right size and excellent quality.

My son loves this book. Quality is good.

A must have! I highly recommend

I saw this book on TV as an anime. I bought it for my daughter and she loves it!