Cute Korean picture book with graphic novel elements, about a little kid who wants to cycle along with his big brother and his big friends, but he's too slow and his bike too small, which is understandably quite frustrating for the little brother. To top it off, his big brother calls him a snail.

Little brother gets angry, and then learns a lesson watching and following an actual snail.

The art is very fine, fragile even, using red to make the little brother pop in the black and white art. Very nice.

This is a very cute and heartwarming picture book about the importance of slowing down to find self-care and the beauty around you.

Interestingly, I think this book can both be read very quickly and very slowly. The illustrations are mostly black and white lineart with a few red accents to focus our attention. There are quite a few very wide and detailed, double-page panoramas in this book and very little text. You can decide to focus on the main event and ride through the story or you can choose to linger over the small details that are often very far from where the plot happens, e.g. looking at the children on the playground (even though the main character is not even there) and finding a lot of micro-stories there, or check out all the different plants in garden patches. I think this makes this book possible to be re-read a lot of times, and each time a different experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC.

Thank you to the author, Pushkin Children's Books and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This simple and short children's book offers stunning illustrations - black and white with occasional pops of red - but we struggled with the story. A young boy cannot keep up with his older brother and an encounter with a snail teaches hime the beauty of going through life more slowly. I think the story may have lost a bit in translation, both I and the young kids I read it with were left a bit puzzled.

A small boy cannot keep up with his older brother's pack of friends. Just when he's getting frustrated about being so slow, a snail teaches him that sometimes it's best to take it easy and enjoy the scenery. This is a sweet, simple book. I really liked the author's unusual, mostly monochromatic artwork.

I think it's not easy to comprehend the story. Looking at pictures and talking about related examples is a way to explore the issues that can arise. When it comes to sibling rivalry, as parents we must have a way that suits our children. Some are used to slow implementation and others may struggle to understand the issues.

Snail or tortoise is a popular symbol of struggling group in our life chain. Despite our slowness, the most important thing is that you're learning a new thing.

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for the earc. I give 3.5 ⭐️

This picture book has minimalist illustrations, with lots of black, white, and red. The story follows a young child who can't keep up with his big brother and friends, and who feels discouraged and angry. He discovers a snail, slows down to see some natural beauty, and then goes back on his way. There's a paragraph of text from the author at the end that's supposed to be profound and encouraging, but it just seemed confusing and random. This may be partly because it's translated from another language, but I didn't think the message sticks well, and the whole book felt disjointed and abrupt to me.

A lovely simple picture book with a nice message and good illustrations. This will be good for literacy lessons to look at how the story conveys a message.

I was intrigued by the illustrations. However if you're looking for a bright and cheerfully illustrated book, this is not it. The images are excellent, but not cheerful, it does add some color as the story progresses. I'm not sure if youngsters will grasp the moral of the story. I felt like the ending was rather abrupt and incomplete. I like the message the book conveys, but not sure the audience this is geared towards will get it.

📱E-Book Review📱

Snail
Minu Kim

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was a lovely little quick read.

I'd say more of a picture book, or graphic novel style book, so not too many words.

The little boy is out on his bike with his brother and friends - his bike is too small to keep up and soon gets left behind.
But on finding a little snail climbing a tree, he realises that he can find his way back home by following nature and the sky.

This is a cute story and one that will be grabbed out over and over again.

I loved the illustrations which although had quite a lot in them, still felt quite simple and clear.
Mainly black and white, maybe pencil drawn, there was the odd pop of colour that drew the eye to certain points.

A nice quick read - great for sharing at storytime.


💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

In Snail, we follow the afternoon of one little brother who learns that it is ok to live at his own speed. On a bike ride where the older boys get away from him, he notices a snail and the beauty of his surroundings. This book is illustrated in such a simple and effective way. Not only do the illustrations convey such a sense of movement and adventure, but the use of color is stunning and adds so much to the overall story.

had so much fun reading this book, the story is so adorable and the illustrations were so well done and charming, there’s so many little details in every page that I couldn’t stop but be mesmerized by it all. I will definitely be recommending it! Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this early copy

Snail is a cute story about a little boy who is riding his bicycle with his brother. His older and friends are riding their bikes and little brother start farther behind without unable to keep up. Little brother meets a snail and he realizes there is more than keeping up. Life is sometimes about slowing down and enjoying what is around us. The illustrations are very detailed with a splash of color.


Thank you NetGalley, Pushkin Press and Pushkin Children’s Book for sending me an ARC in exchange of an honest review of the book received.

Very beautiful. The arts are aamzing and the story is also very interesting. I love it and will recommend it!

This is a beautiful and much - needed book that teaches children not to be overly competitive. In this neoliberal world, this book carries an important message.

This was a very short and simple story.

Minimalistic drawings with only a splash of color here and there, accompanied a story I didn’t fully understand.

I liked most of the story and the illustrations really fit it well.

A little boy tries to follow his big brother and his big friends, but fails to. It makes him upset until he finds a snail and sees the most beautiful (my favorite illustrations) sunset. I think I got what that meant but then at the end there’s some text I didn’t really get.

Although a little confusing, this was an okay read I would recommend for kids who like short and simple stories, with little text and room for interpretation.

Thank you NetGalley, for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Snail is a sweet story following a young boy who tries to follow his older brother and his friends on a bike ride, but he in unable to keep up and is left behind. He encounters a snail who is slowly climbing a tree, and learns that sometimes you need to do things at your own pace, slow down, and enjoy the world around you.

I read this with my son and we both really loved it. The illustrations were really lovely, and I loved the use of the black and white colour scheme with the pops of red. The pages with no text were really beautiful to look through to tell the story, and my son was really engaged. Also really liked finding a picture book for us to read which has been translated from Korean.

I absolutely love children’s books with illustrations that do not serve only enhance the writing but also tell the story itself. The illustrations are perfect and speak clearly and quietly of the story.

The story itself is simple, a younger brother left behind because he’s too slow. But he ultimately learns he’s not too slow, he’s simply going at his pace. A pace that is perfect for him.

"Snail" is a simple, sweet story about the struggles of a little boy trying to keep up with his older brother and his friends on their bikes. It has very detailed line drawings with hints of red here and there to draw attention to certain things on the page. The illustrations and the text are beautiful, but and I don't know if it's a book that many children will be drawn to. Also, I don't think the overall message is portrayed clearly enough in the end,

Cute and sweet. The illustrations were pretty, and I liked the use of black and white with only a little red. Nice story for siblings.

I read this book via NetGalley and I think some of the message is lost in translation. The black-and-white illustrations are fine with an occasional splash of red then two gorgeous pages at the end. Most of the story is a bummer for the slower younger brother. The payoff of the book is at the end, and I’m just not sure the author sticks the landing… the message seems to be profound but is a bit clunky and disjointed from the rest of the book.