The Snail and the Whale

This book is absolutely adorable! I love the story and message for young kids. It has a great rhyme, yet doesn't feel too juvenile or silly. I love that the snail is described as having an "itchy foot." How cute! :) This book would be great as a baby shower or child birthday gift.

i love Julia Donaldson's books. This one reminds me of the William Steig's Amos and Boris... similar tale. Steig's prose was a little difficult for my 4 yr old to understand, Donaldson's is easier, art work is great too. Personally, i prefer Amos and Boris...

It is a very heartwarming story with beautifully illustrated pictures. The storyline teaches children about challenges and how to overcome them through teamwork. As a preschool teacher I am always looking for books to use in my classroom and I definitely will include this one as a keeper and love it in my collection.

We are great fans of Julia Donaldson, having been completely hooked by the Gruffalo. This does not disappoint - beautiful meter in the language, with a compelling story. Like many of her books the message is that even the very small, and seemingly weak can save the day if only they use their brains. My 2 year old loves it, and we really enjoy reading it. A good thing with the number of times it is requested! 6 months and still going strong, now.

I have been following the works of Julia Donaldson for the last three years. My son was born in the UK where we lived until last year and she is a very popular author with many best selling children's books. My favorites, so far, are sharing a shell, what the lady bird heard, Taby McTat as well as her most famous work: The Gruffalo. Not all her books are easy to find through US based vendors but somehow this one was an exception. I could get it fast through the store without having to wait an overseas shipment from the UK.

This book has two main characters: A snail with an adventurous soul who wants to go to places beyond the horizons and explore the world. That character points out the reader that our imagination can go far beyond our capabilities and a way make it happen can be found like in this case. Snail manages to write a note ' I want to see the world' on the rock it lives on and a whale somehow notices this and offers a ride on the tail. They visit exotic places as see different animals and lands until one day the whale gets lost and dragged to the shore. Being unable to turn back, his time starts running low since whales can not survive long on the shore.

There comes the help from the little passenger. It crawls to the local school to seek for help and manages to write a message on the blackboard : 'save the whale'. The students and the teachers read it and notify the local rescue team who come and save the whale by dragging him back to the sea. No matter how small you are, you can always be of help if you really want is the second take home message from this small child book.

The story ends in a happy way in which they both find their way back home. After that colorful experience whale keeps offering this ride to other snail inhabitants of the rock as a gratitude for the help he received from the little one.

A pleasant read for a child with many attractive pictures and good easy to understand text. Yet again a good read for an adult too.

I love this book. While it's obviously a children's book, it's not so simple that a parent will quickly tire of reading it to their children. The storyline is clever and the characters are adorable. The paintings on each page are very detailed and fun to look at. This book is fun for kids and parents alike!

Such a sweet story, from beginning to end. A story of dreaming big, seeking adventure out in the wide world, and how even the smallest of creatures matter and can help those much bigger than they. We love this story and enjoy reading it regularly.

This book, and others by Julia Donaldson are wonderful read aloud books. My grandson (4 years old) loves the way the author has fun with words and the story. The illustrator, Axel Scheffler, creates beautiful scenes with little creatures and interesting details that encourage kids to find new things on each page with every reading. Other books we enjoy include "Gruffalo", "Grufalo's Child", and "Room on the Broom".

Our son (33 months old) absolutely loves this book. It is his favourite and he wants it read to him every single night. The prose rhymes like the Gruffalo stories (which he also loves), the artwork is super cute and the story is fun. He has learnt a lot of vocab with this book and joins in with telling the story.