Are You A Snail?

by Judy Allen, Tudor Humphries (Illustrator)

Overview

A young snail faces many challenges as it tries to grow safely into an adult. All the facts a young child needs to understand the life of this intriguing backyard creature are packed into Backyard Books: Are You a Snail? by Judy Allen with illustrations by Tudor Humphries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780753456040
Publisher:	Kingfisher
Publication date:	05/16/2003
Series:	Backyard Books Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	31
Sales rank:	132,652
Product dimensions:	8.24(w) x 8.18(h) x 0.12(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Judy Allen is an award-winning author whose novel Awaiting Developments was short-listed for the Whitbread Children's Novel Award. Judy Allen and illustrator Tudor Humphries created Kingfisher's award-winning Backyard Books series and many other successful books, including the Reading Rainbow selections Tiger and Seal.

Editorial Reviews

This book is an excellent read-aloud and with the help of an adult, a nice early reader for K-1 students. It would be a wonderful addition to an invertebrate, backyard animals or other animal science curriculum. ” —Children's Literature

From the Publisher

Snails, ill-defined blobs creeping along in their fantastically shaped shells, have long held the fascination of children. This entry in Kingfisher's "Backyard Books" series offers very nice colored drawings to illustrate the life cycle of the common snail. The text's approach, asking the reader if he or she is a snail, may be a little cute, but the whole is sufficient for an introduction for a very young audience seeking information about this area of nature and science. 2000, Kingfisher, Ages 3 to 8, $9.95. Reviewer: Donna T. Brumby

Children's Literature

PreS-Gr 2-Short sentences in large print are juxtaposed against colorful, close-up, watercolor-and-pencil illustrations. Each accessible book begins with its title question and tells readers how they would experience life as that creature, keeping the familiar form of address throughout, e.g., "If you are [a ladybug], your parents look like this, and they eat-." The books briefly describe their subjects' birth, growth and development, a few outstanding physical and behavioral characteristics, diet, habitat, and natural enemies. The narratives then segue into a reality check, stating, "However, if your parents look a little like this-You are-a human child." Each title ends with a list of miscellaneous facts about the invertebrate discussed. While the texts are simply and clearly written, there are a couple of minor flaws. Ladybug fails to define the word aphid, although the soft-bodied insect is referred to several times, and Snail defines poison as "poisonous." Joanne Ryder's beautifully illustrated, lyrical The Snail's Spell (Puffin, 1988) serves as an excellent introduction for preschoolers, but Allen's titles will attract young nature lovers.-Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

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