Synopsis
This sweet and reassuring easy reader by a popular picture book author is perfect for bedtime reading.
Slowly Snail glides along to bid his friends goodnight. But by the time he reaches Rabbit, she is nearly asleep. Snail better hurry! Will he make it before everyone goes to bed? Beginning readers will love following this well-intentioned snail as he slides through each jewel-colored page.
Children's Literature
When Snail, a jaunty anthropomorphic fellow in red coat and yellow hat, notices that the moon and stars are out and his friends are not, he decides to wish his friends good night. Moving very slowly, as snails do, he reaches Bunny's den when she is almost asleep. He realizes that Mouse may also be close to sleep so he should hurry. But he can only slide very slowly. All is dark at Mouse's, so he must wake him up to say good night. On he goes, hoping to reach Sparrow's tree soon, but of course still very slowly. By the time he says "Good night" to Sparrow, it is time to get up. Exhausted by his efforts, Snail curls into his shell and sleeps all day. The amusing story, along with the brief text in large type and the simple vocabulary, makes this a refreshing early reader. Litzinger's softly modeled, sculpturesque, watercolor, gouache and colored pencil illustrations fill the double pages with enlarged leaves and flowers as seen from a snail's point of view, all telling a charming tale of well-meaning friendship. Reviewer: Ken and Sylvia Marantz