Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Escargot #1

Escargot

Rate this book
Say Bonjour! to the first picture book in the bestselling Escargot series about a cute French snail and his laugh-out-loud adventures.

Escargot is an adorable French snail who only wants two things: 1) To be your favorite animal, and 2) To eat the delicious salad at the end of this book. Except this delicious salad has a carrot in it. And Escargot hates carrots. But when he finally tries one—with a little help from you!—he realizes that it’s not so bad after all.

From New York Times–bestselling author Dashka Slater and former Pixar animator Sydney Hanson, Escargot is an irresistibly sweet and charming story about a snail who might be a picky eater but definitely wants to be your new best friend. This hilarious and interactive addition to the award-winning Escargot series is the ideal read aloud for story time and animal lovers alike.

Escargot is also available as a board book for babies and toddlers up to 3 years old.

Don’t miss Escargot’s other funny and heartwarming adventures for kids ages 4-6 in:
A Book for Escargot
Love, Escargot (also available as a board book for babies and toddlers up to 3 years old)
Escargot and the Search for Spring

40 pages, Hardcover

First published April 11, 2017

246 people are currently reading
1005 people want to read

About the author

Dashka Slater

28 books467 followers
Dashka Slater’s novel, The Wishing Box, was named one of the best books of the year by the Los Angeles Times, which called it “an impish novel, hopeful and full of humor.” She is the author of four acclaimed children's books: Baby Shoes; Firefighters in the Dark; The Sea Serpent and Me and Dangerously Ever After. She has two picture books forthcoming in 2017, as well as the much-anticipated Young Adult non-fiction narrative The 57 Bus.

Slater is also an award-winning journalist who has written for such publications as Newsweek, More, Salon, Mother Jones, Sierra, and The New York Times Magazine. The recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, she is currently working on new books for both children and adults. Learn more at www.dashkaslater.com.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
1,988 (57%)
4 stars
946 (27%)
3 stars
404 (11%)
2 stars
69 (2%)
1 star
24 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 672 reviews
Profile Image for Carmen.
2,025 reviews2,426 followers
January 23, 2019
Bonjour! I see you are staring at me!

I don't mind.

My name is Escargot, and I am such a beautiful French snail that everybody stares at me.





Right now, I am traveling to the salad at the end of this book. It is a beautiful salad, with croutons and a light vinaigrette.

You should come! I just need a little push to help me start.

While we are traveling, we can talk. Tell me, what do you think is my most beautiful part?

My shell?

My neck?

My tentacles?

Oh là là! It is so hard to choose!

That is because all of Escargot is magnifique!

You can kiss me if you want.





Let's talk about our favorite animals.

Is yours the dog? The cat? The platypus? The wildebeest? The lemur? The hippopotamus?

THE SNAIL?

Wait! Before you answer, I must tell you something sad.

So sad I might cry.

Will you stroke my shell, just until I feel better?

Okay, now I will tell you the very sad thing:

Nobody ever says their favorite animal is the snail.





Perhaps you think, "Snails are slimy, Escargot! You are too slimy to be my favorite animal!"

Au contraire!

The trails I make as I travel to the salad are shimmery trails of...

What would you call it?

Not slime...

More like shimmery trails of...

shimmery stuff.


This book is SO CUTE. Read it immediately. It's hilarious, has adorable pictures, and encourages the child to interact with the book (stroke the snail, give the snail a push, make a fierce face at the book, etc. etc.)




TL;DR You have to read it right now. It is TOO CUTE. AMAZING WORK by Slater. Highly recommended.

Profile Image for Calista.
5,432 reviews31.3k followers
June 3, 2018
Je t'aime, J'adore. Dear reader, this book breaks the fourth wall using a snail as a French cliche to tell the joke. The snail is so cute and leaves shimmery trails behind him. He is racing you in the book. He talks to you the whole time. He wants to convince you he is worthy of your favorite animal and to love salad.

I ended up loving this book. It is fantastique! I read it to the nephew and we had so much fun that my niece came in and we read it all over again. The nephew wanted to as much as my niece. This was a favorite here. They asked to read it again tomorrow.

I love the artwork and it is delightfully funny. Dashka has me hooked.
Profile Image for Dez the Bookworm.
554 reviews374 followers
November 27, 2022
I have small children - I had to stop reading this to them because of the amount of “kisses” the snail wanted when he felt bad about himself, in addition to him asking the child to “stroke his shell” the feel better. It was almost the entire book and took away from what could have been a good story (which the story was not good IMO either).

Kisses may not seem like a big deal, but I don’t want to teach my children that kissing is an acceptable response to a stranger or friend having a sad moment. Sends the wrong message for me.
Profile Image for Yodamom.
2,208 reviews216 followers
February 2, 2019
What is your favorite animal ? Mine is the french snail. Oh he so cute, so full of adorableness, and personality. He will win your heart and perhaps get you to eat your veggies with a bit more love. The artwork is beautiful, soft and colorful. There might be a lesson along the way about trying foods you've never tried before but know you hate, but I'll not spill that detail.
I will buy this as a gift for small children.
Profile Image for Moonkiszt.
3,031 reviews333 followers
October 23, 2020
Featured in grandma reads session.

What a darling snail! I never would have thought to be so swept off my feet, and my crew, too. With his big black eyes, and his Frenchified ways, I found him irresistible. And all he wants is to be your favorite animal (instead of . . .perhaps, say, the earwig????).

He's been promoted to my new favorite animal.

4 stars, all exuding shimmery stuff (NOT slime).
Profile Image for Kelly.
1,089 reviews8 followers
March 7, 2022
So cute! Perfect for read aloud.

Escargot is a sassy snail that is just trying to get to the salad at the end of the book. He also wants to be your favorite animal and maybe encourage you to try something new.

Check out Escargot and his slimy trail of awesomeness and you too will fall in love with him.
Profile Image for Laura.
481 reviews22 followers
April 24, 2017
This book is best read out-loud in a French accent... And I'm fairly sure no one is going to top Amy's story-time reading of it...
Profile Image for Katherine.
2 reviews2 followers
June 14, 2017
PLEASE WRITE A SEQUEL(S) to this book!

Let me explain.

I have a very "strong-willed" three-year-old daughter who is of the overly picky eater variety. It's bad. I cannot emphasize how exhausting this is. This book has helped our family so much, and we are so grateful. It's also just a lovely picture book.

This is hands-down Charlotte's favorite book and our favorite book to read as a family. It must be read in an excruciatingly bad fake French accent. I read it this way. My husband reads it this way. My mother-in-law even joins in - even our daughter can now give a "voice" to Escargot.

She has memorized most of this book. We read it on average twice per day. We have even purchased a tiny snail friend off of Amazon who serves as the unofficial Escargot at meals (marketing idea!) I have not yet told her what Escargot's name actually means...

We would love for Escargot to explore new adventures where he can make a fierce face at broccoli in a stir-fry, or bananas in a banana split (seriously, this kid won't eat anything - except small bits of carrots, now, thanks to this book!)

Thank you, thank you for this book!
Profile Image for Scottsdale Public Library.
3,530 reviews476 followers
Read
August 31, 2021
This little French snail desperately wants to be someone's favorite animal and to get to the wonderful salad at the other side of the table. He may need a bit of help in this read-aloud gem, that's even more fun when you use a french accent! C'est magnifique!!-Jen K.
Profile Image for The Library Lady.
3,877 reviews679 followers
October 19, 2017
This is another book that makes me wish I had an audience for a preschool story time this year.
It has a bit of audience participation built in, and will need to be read in a lovely French accent--think Maurice Chevalier, or if you've never heard of him, think Pepe Le Pew
And if you don't know him, your cartoon knowledge is sadly lacking. Voila:

In sum:J'adore "Escargot"!
1,024 reviews
September 17, 2016
I read an early copy of this book via work, with no obligation to leave a personal review.

I love Escargot, this book's title character, and you will too. Some French charm, beautiful illustrations, and cute all around--with a little message in there about not being too picky with your food, too. Escargot warmed his way into my heart.
Profile Image for Chance Lee.
1,399 reviews158 followers
May 3, 2019
This was returned to the library today and I read the whole thing and what was I thinking giving this four stars? The snail basically the cutest most charming kids book character ever. My favorite animal is now the snail.
Profile Image for Melissa.
Author 19 books876 followers
December 29, 2017
My children have now had me read this book thrice and if I don't hide it, I bet I'll be reading it again. To get 5 stars from me, the voice needs to be immediate and distinct that it makes you read it in character. And this one does, thankfully I knew the little French that is in there, but that could be a stumbling block if you want to read before hand to know if you have the pronunciation right if you know no French.

This book is the character talking directly to the children and so enticingly so that the children keep talking back, at least the 4 year old does, but the 6 and 11 year old were totally game to talk back to the snail too, and so I had to start ad-libbing responses because the 4 year old especially, though the others did occasionally, kept asking the snail really good questions that I just couldn't ignore. I'm usually a "non-fun out loud reader" that I often say "shhh, just listen to the story" but this one is so fun I was totally willing to make up story in the snail's voice on-the-spot for entertaining purposes.

Definitely one that went on my purchase list. I plan to read it to my small pre-k group because this is too fun to send back to the library until I do so. :)
Profile Image for orangerful.
953 reviews50 followers
August 22, 2019
This book MUST be read out loud with an OUTRAGEOUS French accent.

Afterwards, you might need to draw a small pencil mustache on your child's face and buy them a beret, and them give them a kiss MWAH!

Adorable little story about a snail with high self esteem in search of a salad without carrots (and who secretly thinks very highly of you).

Cute.
Profile Image for Angela.
1,357 reviews27 followers
February 16, 2017
I double dog dare you to read this aloud without attempting a (bad, my case) French accent. Will be a blast at storytime.
Profile Image for Krissy.
1,677 reviews344 followers
May 30, 2018
Super cute! I loved how the book got you to interact with the story. My son had a lot of fun! I'm just sorry my poor baby had to listen to my god awful attempt at a French accent. At least it made him laugh!
Profile Image for Abigail.
7,960 reviews262 followers
November 26, 2022
Escargot is a French snail with a lot of personality. Determined to convince the reader to pick him as their favorite animal, he presents his many wonderful qualities, from the shimmery trail he leaves behind as he moves, to his speed in racing. Inviting readers to participate in the story, by taking certain actions - roaring like a lion, stroking Escargot's shell - our hero proceeds to the end, where a delicious salad awaits. But will Escargot be able to stomach the carrots that have somehow gotten into that salad...?

A sweet tale that includes some of the interactive elements that have become popular in picture-books of late - think of titles like Hervé Tullet's Press Here - Escargot features a winsome snail hero's journey, and appealing artwork. I enjoyed illustrator Sydney Hanson's work in Panda Pants , and I thought the visuals here were every bit as cute. Recommended to anyone looking for fun new picture-books that incorporate interactive elements into the storytelling process.
Profile Image for Evie.
471 reviews79 followers
June 13, 2022
Snails are my favorite little Gastropods! Escargot's journey to the salad at the end of the book was so much fun! This would be awesome read aloud.
Profile Image for lookmairead.
819 reviews
June 28, 2021
Why I gift this book series: Read in your best (or attempted best) French accent & your kid will want you to reread it often. Love the sweet interactions in this book.
Profile Image for Rae O’Shea.
29 reviews
December 13, 2023
This is a charming book about our favorite animal and every child should own a copy. Every adult too.
Profile Image for Laura.
623 reviews135 followers
December 6, 2019
My husband, using his best French accent, read this one to the whole family tonight. We were all laughing out-loud and were even responding to this adorable French snail Escargot. Super cute. Any story that gets me roaring and making fierce faces at carrots is a winner. I can’t wait to read the next Escargot book.
8 reviews
December 13, 2023
We love this book. After reading, how can a snail *not* be your favorite animal (or at least, this delightful French snail)?
Profile Image for Erica (EricaEreads).
175 reviews14 followers
April 24, 2017
This book BRILLIANTLY breaks the fourth wall and calls for reader participation. Escargot's dry humor will please listeners of all ages, while the interactive elements will capture the attention of young readers. I cannot wait to read this at storytimes!
Profile Image for Jillian.
2,367 reviews541 followers
May 17, 2017
Cute! Had me giggling along. The entire book is a snail breaking the fourth wall and talking to the reader as he tries to get to the salad at the end of the book. Little kids will love the interactive elements when Escargot asks them to do something to help him along.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 672 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.