The Snail's Spell

by Joanne Ryder, Lynne Cherry (Illustrator)

From this Award-Winning author comes "A captivating story about a boy who shrinks to the size of a snail and experiences the world from that perspective."-- Publishers Weekly

Genres: Picture Books, Science, Childrens, Animals, Nature, Nonfiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Joanna Ryder is an award-winning author whose books offer a unique blend of poetry and science. Her innovative Just for a Day series invites children into the world of wild animals, ranging from a sea otter to Tyrannosaurus rex. Ms. Ryder says, "Children know that my books often ask them to imagine being a different creature. So they always ask me which animal I would choose to be. I'd be a flying one, I tell them. Or if I could, I'd wish for wings. And I've discovered children would love wings, too. But which ones to choose? I wrote Rainbow Wings to help us decide." Ms. Ryder lives in Pacific Grove, California.

-taken from www.balkinbuddies.com

Reviews

[SB · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book that allows the child to consider what being a snail is like. It’s engaging and fun. My youngest liked getting on the floor and pretending with the narrative.

Recommend.

[C. (Don't blank click my reviews, comment please! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I encountered two books by Joanne Ryder, a creative children’s author. Lynne Cherry did the gorgeous drawings of “The Snail’s Spell” 1982. It asks us to put ourselves in a snail’s place, a worthy exercise for our imagination that brings insight into what life is like for someone structured differently than us. Joanne teaches every reader: how he moves, the way he eats, what he eats, what his body is like, and how he can protect himself by closing himself inward. I knew nothing about snails and was most fascinated to discover that they can also control their eyes by reeling them in like a sliding door.

The text is simple and brief but we glean a lot of information from it. I give four stars, not so much because no story was built around this introduction to a snail. This book didn’t need a tale but the end arrived abruptly; a lack of flow or conclusion that was felt strongly. There should have been a closing note to this peaceful, gliding outing. My praise is stellar nonetheless because this foray is unique. Instead of stating biological facts, Joanne sends us to envision this snail’s world and how his body feels.

What allows us to participate so well is Lynne’s talent. My spouse & I are gardeners and it was a delight to see realistically-labelled plant signs, next to drawings of the recognizable plants. Her colours, animals, insects, and the plants themselves shine with individual, living personalities. Each page is soothing to take in but I was swept away by Lynne’s slow magnification of the same portion of her garden. The progression shows a child shrinking to meet the snail, moving alongside him as we watch the same garden plants shift proportionately. This is a relaxing, beautiful, and thoughtful book.

[Two Hearts Homeschool · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another thrift store find; Ryder also wrote “Toad by the Road” which is perhaps the best collection of poetry about toads that I have ever read!

[·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:· bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice older man gave this to me at a market I was at. It was only 50 cents, but he just let me have it.
I was entranced by the illustrations.
It reminded me of my childhood, gardening fruits and veggies with my family and marching through the woods with the neighborhood kids.
My boyfriend says I look like the girl in the book.
The man found me at the market and asked if I wanted anymore, that he was going to donate the rest. I think he thought my boyfriend and I were young parents, but it was only for me since I enjoyed it like a kid would.

[Hannah Holthaus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about a snail and how they live. The one neat thing throughout the book was that in the pictures, there was a little boy copying the same moves that the snail made on the pages. The illustrations in this book were so detailed and really made this book a lot more interesting! There was some information on the pages about snails which could easily be used to help teach students about snails.

[Billy Noecker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this short story lent itself well to having students identify with a snail. The story asks you to imagine yourself as the snail while weaving through the landscape. This story could be incorporated into a science unit very easily, especially for younger readers. The pictures in this story help allow the students to put themselves into the story.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Imagine/ you are soft/and have no bones/inside you."

This book, but subtract the (subpar, anyway) illustrations, re-released with the words in plain block letters white on a black background, would be a bloody masterpiece in postmodern body horror. It's... unintentionally visceral and really quite chilling.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a weird book. It has exquisite illustrations. You can spend lots of time on each page looking for insects and mice and other creatures. The story itself is pseudo-poetic, dreamlike, and while it purports on the cover to be a science book, does not contain much actual science. The kiddo liked it.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for my snail storytime and got the best reactions to it!! The littles were definitely interested in the idea of turning into a snail and better appreciated being human! :)

[Brianna Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting way to explain a snail and imagine what it is like to be one.

[Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gift from Harper's grandmother

[Liz E · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is really lovely, for 3 and up.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual, meditative little book with highly detailed illustrations of a snail's garden world and all the life residing there.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this back in April 2023 but apparently forgot to mark it. If you like Lynne Cherry and other environmentally-conscious artists, you'll enjoy this quick read with a snail's POV leading the way.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young children learn by pretending so in The Snail's Spell a young girl is asked to pretend she is a snail and at each step in the pretend play, she learns more about snails. The illustrations are outstanding and very attractive for both children and adults. It is a good science lesson book about an animal that is often found in our area. The children enjoy the book and I see them pretending in their free play to copy the story, which tells me that they have learned about snails and enjoyed the book.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was given an award for an "Outstanding Science Book for Young Children" by the New York Academy of Sciences. It takes you on a journey of what it's like to be a snail in a garden. Great illustrations - and I love snails (except in my own garden). Thanks to Morgan for sending us this great book!

[Christina Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout the book it has beautiful colorful pictures of the garden. It allows the children to use their imaginations in becoming a snail. By describing step by step it allows you to actually think you are becoming a snail. I feel like the book is very calm and peaceful and you feel like you are in that garden while reading.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be good for a kindergarten class. I do like stories that make kids think about those creatures with bad reputations-- snails don't strike most as being cute or relatable. I'd like to see if my class could imagine themselves being snails. Maybe then they wouldn't strike up a chorus of "ewwww!" every time they're mentioned.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book a little bit confusing as I reading it. The boy imagined himself being small, but then none of the other changes actually happened. But there were also snails. So I would look from snail to boy, trying to see what I had just read about, and then be a little bit confused because I wasn't sure where to look. I just wasn't feeling it. I like the attempt, but not my thing.

[Rose]

E Ryd

[Rachel]

Use with Snail Trails lesson plan for math has an introduction.

[Turrean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely for a preK storytime. Would be perfect paired with a nonfiction on snails and other garden creatures. The book lends itself to some playacting (lets be snails!)

[Audra · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book! when i read it as a little kid i thought it was magical. loved the illustrations inside. definitely a book id recommend to little kids.

[Liz Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an awesome old book. We learned lots of cool things about snails AND.. had a fun time pretending to be a snail. Great for visualizing!

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story would make a good lead-in to an active/yoga story time, or an imaginative read-aloud, in a garden, perhaps.

[Little Champs]

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