The cover caught my eye for this picture book. I love the lesson that the author was trying to convey, but fell short as the brother was intentionally being slow to get out of responsibilities and lack of guidance.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one wasn't for me. From the cover I thought it was going to be one I really liked. But this one fell short for me. The illustrations were the only t hings I somewhat enjoyed.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A cute book about siblings and how the brother moves really slow and the sister finds it annoying.

Not a Good Message; Illustrations So-So

According to the publisher in a note at the front of the book, this book is supposed to be about sibling tolerance. That's not quite the message I took away from it. Despite the illustration on the cover, this is not about an actual snail. Rather, a big sister sees her little brother as being slow, so she thinks of him as a snail. The bulk of the book shows her being annoyed by her brother's slowness, but toward the end of the book, she reveals that not only is he a kid—all the illustrations had shown him as a snail—but he can be very fast when he wants when adults aren't around. So, essentially, he only acts slow to avoid doing what he doesn't want to do. The older sister decides to keep his secret. The whole thing came across as very odd. Is the author suggesting that siblings should encourage bad behavior in each other? Is that what constitutes tolerance, accepting that your sibling acts in ways that he or she should not? That seems to be a bad message for kids! The illustrations had a slightly muted palette, but I thought the ones that were full two-page spreads had enough going on to be interesting. I didn't find the single pages in this somewhat uninteresting palette to be as good, probably because there was not as much going on. All in all, I was not impressed by this book.

I wonder about picture books like this one sometimes. Books that are focused on a metaphor and the ways kids understand them. The plot is a bit all over the place and I'm not sure what we're supposed to take away from it.

I struggled with this book. The premise is that the narrator's brother is a snail when there are things he doesn't enjoy doing, and a speedy kid when he's doing things he enjoys. The girl decides to keep this a secret, and not tell others, so he doesn't get in trouble, I assume.

With obvious allusions to being a diagnosed condition, but not really explaining it in detail, this book just comes across as a sister being annoyed that her brother gets away with being lazy, and tricks the parents into thinking that because he's a snail he has no choice but to move slowly. It goes on to show that when he wants to do something and his parents aren't looking, he makes the choice to be speedy and enjoy himself. I went back and forth on the message this sends. In the end, my kids were confused by it, and so was I.

I did enjoy the illustrations, and the feeling of movement in the book was lovely, but that wasn't enough to keep it afloat.

This is a cute book with good illustrations with the story itself easy for a child to follow. The fact that Moe morphs from a snail to a child is a bit of a stretch for me. If this implied Moe was a snail and not actually a snail it would make more sense to me.

I guess this book has an audience, but it just rubbed me the wrong way. It's basically about a kid who manipulates the adults around him, and the older sister who enables the behaviour (even though it bothers her, too).

Moe is so slow that his sister views him as a snail. But he's actually only a snail when he's being asked to do things he doesn't want to do. Otherwise, he's a fast kid. The girl thinks her parents haven't noticed that he's actually a kid. She decides to keep the secret because she loves him.

I don't like the message here. Not that the girl should be tattling on her brother or anything, but enabling his disobedience and passive-aggressive behaviour doesn't seem like a healthy thing to do, either.

The pictures are okay. The colour palette is a bit muted, with lots of greens, golds, and browns. They work well enough, but I didn't find them particularly interesting.

This could've been really funny if the message had been tweaked. As it is, though, it made me a bit uncomfortable.

This book is a cute illustration of frustrations between siblings, but once it was revealed that Moe is sometimes a kid, I expected the story to handle neurodivergence in some way, but it never did. As a reader, I am left unsure whether the book is trying to teach through subtext or whether Moe's just a kid who drags his feet when he has to do something he doesn't enjoy. It feels lacking.

Very cute story about a brother that is a snail except when he's not :)
This would be a fun book for story time.

I think kids will think this is really funny. They'll wonder if he really is a snail and ask and ask! It'll be fun as a read aloud. Then they'll talk about if he really is a snail or not and we can talk about why it is Moe is different around adults and kids.

Cute story that cleverly plays on the frustrations of having a sibling and having to wait. Sweet illustrations.

I wanted to like this book. I'll be honest, I didn't read the description. I just saw that there was a cute snail on the cover and thought it was about a really slow snail. When I found out it wasn't, I was a little disappointed. While reading the book, I then thought it might be one of those kid's books that explain autism or another type of special need to children. I was expecting to find a page in the back of the book that might explain Moe's condition and give information on it. However, this wasn't the case. It was never explained why Moe was slow, just that he was. I guess that's ok, but I think there was a missed opportunity to educate.

I'm still disappointed it wasn't about a slow snail.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Charming, heartfelt story about the joys & frustrations of sibling relationships. The message of loving our families & remembering that they are dear to us, even when they annoy us, is an important one. There is also a gentle reminder to consider what kinds of situations might turn other children into "snails," and how we can understand what they need at those times. The illustrations are delightful & provide much to giggle at.

"Slow Moe" is the story of a young kid who is more snail-like when it comes to his speed. His sister is constantly waiting for him and telling him to hurry up. Brushing teeth, cleaning up... all of these daily tasks are done at a painfully slow speed. Will Slow Moe ever move faster?

This book is adorable! As a parent reading this story to my school age kids, I enjoyed the tale just as much as they did! The illustrations are great and the concept is clever! This book is a great one for siblings to read together! We loved "Slow Moe" as we definitely have children that can identify with the main character!
*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Her little brother is a SNAIL and she hates it! Specifically the fact that he isn't always a snail, just when grown ups are around and he has to do something he doesn't want to do... like get out of bed, or go to school, or clean his room.

The illustrations are very charming and I love the design for Moe the snail. This is a little silly but, for a concept like this, I think it could have been even better if it was goofier. Worth a read but not one I am going to keep coming back to over and over.

Slow Moe

By: Deborah Kerbel and Marianne Ferrer

3.8 / 5.0




This picture book was really cute. I loved the art style and colors that were used. The vibrancy of the illustrations make it perfect for a storytime. There are just enough words on a page that a child shouldn’t get bored, but still allows a story to evolve. Plus the ending lesson of loving your siblings no matter what is a very important lesson to teach children. 

The title is great too. I picked up this book on the title alone. The title will capture a child’s attention and the book will teach them to love people no matter what they are. I will recommend this book for my bookstores storytime. The kids will love seeing Moe track slime everywhere.



Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Slow-Moe-Deborah-Kerbel/dp/1459823524/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Slow+moe+kerbel&qid=1591468253&sr=8-1


Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/slow-moe-deborah-kerbel/1136451245?ean=9781459823525


This review will appear on my blog on September 15, 2020.

This is a funny book, one that I'm sure many of my students could resonate with. It's also a story whose metaphors are excellent, capturing the essence of the entire story perfectly. I would happily share this book with the children in my school. I'm sure they would enjoy it. My personal favorite piece of this story is when it is revealed that Moe is only a snail sometimes and the rest of the time, he's almost unrecognizably fast and energetic. In all, this book is a delightful treat that both children and the adults that share it with them will enjoy.

Overall this book was cute. It's about a kid that moves as slow as a snail when there's something he doesnt want to do. Not much to the story though.

The illustrations are lovely and the cover is very appealing! The idea of exploring sibling relationships is a good one. Unfortunately, the storyline was confusing and just didn’t evoke much feeling (at least in me) for Moe or his sister. Families looking to start conversations around sibling dynamics may find it a useful book.