Snails Are Just My Speed by Kevin McCloskey, 40 pp, RL: 2
Snails are Just My Speed! is Kevin McCloskey's fourth non-fiction book for TOON Books and it is as fantastic as the first three! TOON Books is dedicated to bringing high-quality comics to emerging readers, and they are brilliant at all they do, especially McCloskey. From worms to pigeons and now fish and snails, McCloskey has managed to teach me something new with each book of his I read. Even in a book of few words written for beginning readers, the language is rich and varied.
One of the ways that McCloskey engages readers is with comparisons. Appropriately, Snails are Just My Speed! starts off comparing the speed of the snail with everything from a tortoise and a worm to a pigeon and a house fly. As the snail on the cover warns, Snails are Just My Speed! is, "Now with extra mucus!" And yes, quite a few pages are dedicated to mucus and a fact that I am a lot happier knowing - snails can even repair a broken shell with their mucus! And one freaky fact . . . humans make over 4 cups of mucus a day.
There are snails at the bottom of the sea and at the tops of mountains. There are snails that are 15 inches long and snails that are so small they fit through the eye of a needle! And many more facts that will blow your mind. And, by the time you turn the last page of Snails are Just My Speed!, you'll be reminding yourself that this book is a beginning reader.
More Books by Kevin McCloskey!
Source: Review Copy
