School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-This is the tale of two friends who love stories. Every day, Snail waits patiently for Fish to return inside their peaceful book with a new story to share. But when Fish comes back with a pirate adventure story, he wants Snail to experience it firsthand, but Snail is resistant. He loves the book he's in now. The two friends quarrel, and Fish swims off to further explore the new pirate story on his own. Missing his friend, Snail creeps to the edge of his book, sees Fish in the other book below, and takes a leap of faith, diving into the new story. Fish and Snail stand out against Deborah Freedman's muted green and blue palette from her picture book (Viking, 2013), and the production is enhanced by the sound of gently breaking waves and splashing water. This gentle tale encourages viewers to embrace the unknown, showing that stories are gateways to new adventures if we're bold enough to explore them. VERDICT The production is very brief, but it will be a good fit where tales of friendship are in high demand.-Anne Bozievich, Friendship Elementary School, Glen Rock, PA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Freedman (Blue Chicken) continues to explore the idea of books as worlds unto themselves, playing with representing three-dimensional objects on two-dimensional pages. The timid snail of the title waits in a goldfish bowl that, readers will quickly see, is actually a spread in a picture book. Snail's friend Fish returns from his daily outing with an invitation: "Ahoy, Snail! Guess what? I found a new book!" Snail's not interested: "I don't want to go into other books," he says. "I like this book." Despite the offer of a secret treasure and a pirate ship, Snail won't budge, and the two part ways angrily: "Fine, Snail. Good-bye. The end." Snail crawls to the edge of his book to see the new book far below, opened to a watery page. "Fish?" he calls uncertainly-and then boldly leaps himself, in a moment of uncharacteristic bravery. The theme of books as doorways into rich new adventures couldn't be more vividly conveyed, and the resolution of the conflict between two sweet friends provides encouragement for other "snails" to try new things. Ages 3-5. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
