Snail Trail by Ruth Brown

Snail Trail by Ruth Brown
Buy Snail Trail by Ruth Brown at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
Summary: A deceptively simple yet utterly charming tale of a snail wandering around a garden. Ruth Brown's illustrations will keep you coming back time and time again.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 20	Date: November 2010
Publisher: Andersen Press
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1849392525
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Slimy Snail sets out on an adventure, up a hill, through a tunnel, and on and on. When he finally comes to rest in a dark cave, we take a look at the trail he's left, and discover just where he's been travelling.

What a delightful book! It's deceptively simple - just a snail sliding around a garden - but it's utterly charming. Children will get a sense of perspective - what's a high bridge to a snail is just the handle of a trug to us. What's a big and fast slide to Slimy Snail is just a run of the mill spade. And best of all, a long and epic journey, taking in an amazing array of sights, can bring you back almost to where you started. There's not a single child or adult who won't have a big amused grin on their face when they see the snail's trail looping all the way around.

Ruth Brown's illustrations are beautiful. They're awash with autumnal browns, and brilliantly capture the feel of a muddy, grimy garden. Although each page is just one snail in a new setting, every page is a joy to behold - from the inquisitive look as Slimy Snail goes over the bridge, to the hilarious whizzing down the slide. Everything's wonderfully understated, but it all adds up to a superbly satisfying whole.

With its pared down text and simple plot, Snail Trail is primarily aimed at the littlest book fans. It's the sort of book you'll read again and again, every amused and delighted by the snail's antics. It'll stay with you as you get older too - there is more than enough quality to keep older readers enjoying one of their favourite books. Snail Trail is a superb book that is warmly recommended.

My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

For more snail-based fun, check out Jumpy Jack and Googily by Meg Rosoff and Sophie Blackall. A snail also makes an appearance in the equally beautifully illustrated Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett. If it's gardens you love, take a look at The Giant Carrot by Allan Manham and Penny Dann.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Snail Trail by Ruth Brown at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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