Snail

Really beautifully illustrated and sweet story about a younger sibling and the struggles and emotions associated with “keeping up.”

This is a gentle and beautifully formed and illustrated story ; a young boy wants to go cycling with his older brother but soon gets left behind from the group. His frustration begins to grow until he encounters a snail.

This is a metaphorical tale in many ways about living in a world of speed - trying to keep up with expectations but when you stop , slow down and engage with the natural environment around then the realisation you have all you need.
Minu Kim’s illustrations exude an energy and calm and are hypnotising . Mattho Mandersloot’s translation is succinct but beautiful. All credit to Pushkin Press for bringing this South Korean gem to a wider audience

The snail is perfectly pitched and will be a gentle bedtime read but also a book worth talking about with young listeners / readers . Highly recommended to EYFS / nursery classes

I liked this sensitive Korean story and could identify with being too slow to keep up with others. It doesn’t have the kind of illustrations or text that will grab a young child’s attention, but it would be an excellent book to share with one’s young child. It would be interesting to have the child point out where the young boy with the red helmet was located in the black and white illustrations. It was a welcome surprise when the illustrations became full-color toward the end.

You know one of the joys of parenthood is that it often leads into more grown-up parenting when you get a chance to try all over again as a grandparent.

Half-terms and school holidays are a chance to concentrate your reading on your latest offspring’s needs so I was delighted to come across this delightful book.

One, it is from another culture but childhood is universal. It brought me back further into my own youth when I used to cycle for miles.

Secondly, it is an action packed and meaningful story.

This is an account of a younger brother who wants to be part of his sibling’s gang and join those friends when they go into the countryside on a bike adventure. The trouble is both his small cycle and his tiny legs mean he cannot keep up. Now his brother in part embarrassment I guess, and also some concern tells the younger one to “go home”.

Beautifully illustrated with fine pencil line drawings. There is little colour but when used it enhances and lifts the story.

Wonderful lessons to be learned and spoken with your own young readers. The fear and anger seem to be dissipated when the young boy has an off road incident and happens across a snail.

Beautifully paced and full of action. A story book with sufficient words and real life emotions to make it a book your children will return to time and time again and never tire of among those titles they treasure.

What a cute read, it shows the importance of learning to slow down. Take each moment as it comes, don't rush to finish something, take it in your stride, take time with it. However big or small you are or the situation, slow down, calm down and do it in your own pace.

Cute, thought provoking read, nice illustrations, the red bits being the important bits in the cartoon. Would recommend this book

I am always sold on a story about a snail.

The artwork in this book was simple and I really enjoyed the inking technique.

Overall, a good read to help teach and remind children that some days aren't the greatest and sometimes the best thing to do is simple stop and look.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

Very cute illustrations, storyline has some potential but it was a little simple. My 4 year old really enjoyed this little story!

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

📱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 💕

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.

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.

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.

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.