ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
PICTURE BOOKS
Subisak, Tracy

Sorry, Snail

32 pp. | Little | May, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9780316537728 $18.99
(2) K-3 "Ari was mad. She was not allowed to yell when upset, so she danced." Unfortunately, Ari fails to work out all her anger dancing and instead takes it out on an innocent snail munching greens nearby. Her insults drive it away, but later that evening the snail (Ms. Snail, she proclaims) pays Ari a late-night visit, making her hurt feelings known and demanding an apology. Ari delivers an insincere one, and Ms. Snail feels even more offended. All the next day, she and many snail friends seek revenge. Soon it is Ari who feels hurt and mistreated. Ink, watercolor, pastel, and colored-pencil illustrations are soothingly rounded with plenty of white space and, combined with a text full of snail-based humor, work to keep the snail vs. human showdown from becoming too harsh or unpleasant. "'It is time for Snaily Justice!'...Ari could feel the rage emanating from the escargatoire." In the end both Ari and Ms. Snail recognize that they have let their emotions get out of control, and sincere apologies and compliments are bestowed all around. More dancing and a new friendship ensue. This visually appealing, engagingly wacky story offers an emotionally honest look at the way we can carelessly hurt others when our feelings overtake us.
Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

RELATED 

PICTURE BOOKS

Born Ready
by Patterson, Jodie
PICTURE BOOKS

The House of Grass and Sky
by Ray, Mary Lyn
PICTURE BOOKS

The Dog's Gardener
by Storms, Patricia
PICTURE BOOKS

And I Paint It
by Kephart, Beth
PICTURE BOOKS

Poem in My Pocket
by Tougas, Chris
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?