Review by Booklist Review
As night falls, Snail decides to bid each of his friends good night. Snail slides slowly, slowly, slowly until he reaches Bunny's den, when the moon is high, and she is almost asleep. Next, he slides slowly, slowly, slowly to Mouse's nest, waking him up so he can say, good night Finally, Snail slides slowly, slowly, slowly to Sparrow's tree, only to find her awake and the day dawning. Tired Snail curls up in his shell and falls asleep. Created using watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil, the fanciful artwork features mild-mannered animal characters and a benevolent moon shining down on the world. Litzinger personifies Snail as a friendly jacket-wearing little fellow with a human face, two antennae, and a large shell. The large type and short sentences make this gently amusing story just right for beginning readers, but younger children will enjoy hearing it read aloud.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Snail decides to wish his three friends a good night. He catches Bunny at her den, but he travels so slowly that by the time he gets to Mouse's nest, Mouse is already asleep and Snail wakes him up. When he reaches Sparrow's tree, it's already morning. Finally, Snail decides that saying good night is hard work and he curls up in his shell and goes to sleep. The illustrations are oddly proportioned-a flower looks almost the same size as a treetop and Mouse's head appears to be too large for his body. For no apparent reason, Snail is part realism, part anthropomorphism. His torso, hands, and head are human, with button eyes and a long nose, and he wears a yellow hat and red jacket, but his body comes out of his shell. The story is sound, though, and the repetition of "snail slides slowly, slowly, slowly" should help guide readers to the logical outcome long before the sun comes up.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
All of Snail's friends are going to bed, so he's off to wish them good night. Of course at his speed, the sun is coming up before he can finish the job. The mild twist ending will be a funny surprise for some readers. Hip, expansive watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil pictures of a snail with a little boy's face illustrate the story. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Seeing that his friends Bunny, Mouse and Sparrow have disappeared, Snail rightly assumes that they're settling down for the evening and sets out to wish them a good night. Being a snail, this takes him a while--so long, in fact, that by the time he gets to Sparrow, the sun has come up. Litzinger illustrates this Level 1 reader with close-up, ground-level scenes that are all soft, rounded forms. The pictures feature a snail with a human face, arms and clothing sliding "slowly, slowly, slowly" from stop to stop beneath flowers, foliage and a Moon watching benignly. Exhausted at the end of his errand, Snail retreats gradually (over several pages) into his shell and falls asleep. Emergent readers will likely feel a bit drowsy, too, by the close. (Easy reader. 5-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
