The Snail and the Whale

Julia Donaldson is one of those authors my kids reach for without thinking. We have a whole shelf of books, but somehow her stories always end up in our bedtime stack, and this one might be my favorite of all of them 📚✨ The Snail and the Whale feels small and magical at the same time. The writing is gentle, the rhythm is easy to read out loud, and the message hits me every single time. I’m not even kidding, the ending makes my throat tighten a bit, in the sweetest possible way. Something about that little snail stepping up, even when everything seems impossible, gets me 🐌💙🐋 It’s such a lovely reminder for little ones that being small doesn’t mean you can’t make a big difference. And as a parent, I appreciate a book that leaves both of us feeling something when we close it 💭💛A beautiful story, beautifully told. We’ll be reading this one for years 🌟

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 amazon 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.

This is a book that's fun for the parent to read, which is so important! The rhythm and rhymes of the prose are great, and the illustrations draw my 11 month old's attention. The moral of the story is a good one too - even little creatures can have a big impact. (Similarly, see The Littlest Yak - another great read!) We purchased this book because it was the same author as Room on the Broom, and we weren't disappointed. Looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.

My son's favorite. Tells a beautiful story about friendship, and the illustrations are so beautiful.

The perfect gift: thoughtful and truly special. These books feel like treasures you give not just to be read, but to be kept, cherished, and remembered.

My kids are big Julia Donaldson fans. This story has her signature wit, humor, and rhyming, plus fun, quirky illustrations. It's a cute story, but out of all the Julia Donaldson books we own (The Gruffalo, Where's My Mom?, and Room On The Broom), this was least captivating for my kids. I would recommend those I listed before this one, but still cute! **Video is long because it shows the entire book. Drives me nuts to have to purchase childrens books without a quick view of the whole story to see if they'd actually enjoy it!

My husband and I love reading this book to our baby--and I am sure our baby will love it when he starts being able to understand as well! I love the epic journey that snail and the whale go on. The story has such wonderful flow and rhythm to it. The rhymes are perfect, never awkward. The illustrations have rich color and are very fun. We love the way all of the birds look with their beady eyes. I did not realize when I bought this book that Julia Donaldson is also the author of The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child, and Room on the Broom. We love The Snail and the Whale (and had read the Gruffalo before) so much that we went and purchased all of Julia Donaldson's other books. Our second favorite is Room on the Broom. We definitely recommend this book and all of Julia Donaldson's books. They are SO clever and a real treat to read over and over again!

This is just adorable! Love reading this book to my 4 year old. Now looking for more books from this author/illustrator duo!

A mi hija de 3 años le encantó. Muy buen cuento y muy bien ilustrado.

A board book just the right size and excellent quality.

A Lovely story with lovely illustrations for toddlers

My son loves this book. Quality is good.

Very good quality of the book. The story is adorable and my children love it. It's short, it's got rhyme and it's pleasant to read.