Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Reading Time
    • Home
    • Reviews
      • Highly Recommended
      • CBCA Short Listed
      • Early Childhood Books
      • Younger Readers
      • Intermediate Readers
      • Older Readers
      • ANZAC books
      • Great Read Alouds
      • Information Books
      • LGBTQIA+
      • Picture Books
      • Professional Development
    • Interviews
    • Suggestions
    • News
    • Meet The Review Team
    • Contact Us
    Reading Time
    You are at:Home»Reviews»Highly Recommended»What Snail Knows

    What Snail Knows

    0
    By Admin on April 20, 2022 Highly Recommended, Reviews, Younger Readers

    Kathryn Apel (text) and Mandy Foot (illustrator), What Snail Knows, University of Queensland Press, March 2022, 224 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780702265464

    It’s not often that kids in junior fiction come from homes where parents struggle to put food on the table. But this is the territory covered with humility and grace in Kathryn Apel’s latest verse novel What Snail Knows. Lucy lives with her dad in a caravan park and since the death of her mum, her father has encouraged her to keep to herself.

    ‘We do all right, Lucy,’ Dad said.
    ‘just you and me.’ 

    It’s no wonder Lucy adopts a pet snail to keep her company while her dad is off working. But Lucy’s kindness and inquisitive nature ensures she makes friends – at school and in the caravan park – in spite of her dad’s reticence.

    The beauty of this slim volume is that it packs in many themes. The environment is one that is likely to resonate with the target audience, with Lucy’s class learning to make their own bees wax sandwich wrap and helping the local Toad Busters.

    The main theme of grief is supported by Mandy Foot’s emotive black and white-line illustrations. Between the story and Foot’s divine portrayal of Lucy, the novel is an emotional yet ultimately joyful read.

    Reviewed by Heather Gallagher

    Australian author Australian illustrator environment friendship grief Poverty Verse novel

    Related Posts

    A Human for Kingsley

    Dirt Circus League

    Dark Rise

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    • Themes
    • Curriculum
    Action adventure Airplanes Alphabet Anxiety autism Bullying CBCA Awards Coming of age Dystopian emotions family fantasy friendship grief Historical humour magic Mystery Post apocalyptic Readers Cup reluctant readers school Sci-Fi series of books siblings Sport Starting school Teacher Notes
    ANZAC Australian animals Australian history Biography Culture & Diversity Disabilities First Nations Geography health Humanities mental health Poetry Reconciliation resilience Science STEM Stolen Generation sustainability Wordless books



    Recent Comments
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Emily Flint on Walk of the Whales
    Recent Posts
    • A Human for Kingsley
    • Dirt Circus League
    • Dark Rise
    • Bear and Rat
    • Grumble Boats
    Recent Comments
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Emily Flint on Walk of the Whales
    © Copyright 2021 The Children’s Book Council of Australia - All rights reserved

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Posting....