Review: Snails Are Just My Speed!

True story: When my son was in first or second grade, I gave him Kevin McCloskey’s The Real Poop on Pigeons and my son refused to believe that he was reading a nonfiction title. McCloskey has a knack for showing interesting tidbits to make a topic come alive in a wacky sort of way. He does it again in this year’s release.

Snails Are Just My Speed! (Giggle and Learn)
Kevin McCloskey
Toon Books, $12.95
Ages 5-8

In this fourth installment of TOON Books’ early reader science series, Kevin McCloskey once again creates an engaging work of nonfiction that will have kids screaming, “Gross!” and, like the series title says, “Laugh and Learn.”

The book is relatively slim, but it’s chock-full of facts, like how the snail’s slow speed is beneficial, because it makes it harder for predators to see it. McClosky appeals to kid’s love/hate relationship with the ick factor by talking about the many uses of mucus and about snails as food.

The rich artwork, with lush colors against a soft beige background, will keep readers’ eyes focused on the page. The words follow the illustrations, curving and slanting with the artwork.

Young readers will glean many solid facts and have a lot of fun learning them.

Filed under: Graphic Novels, Reviews