Publishers Weekly
12/13/2021
Esther, a tiny taupe snail with a radiantly yellow shell, wakes up one morning with her waving antlers detecting a storm in the air: “Something was happening./ Something big.” In the surf far below her, Esther sees a large boat that many will recognize as Noah’s ark, with animals already streaming in, two by two. As the sky darkens and the air swirls, the previous collaborators (Dictionary for a Better World) conjure a snail’s-eye view of the desperate in-gathering, written in Latham’s rhythmic prose and rendered with visual urgency via Amini’s digitally enhanced acrylic-gouache collages. “The ground vibrated with footsteps—/ heavy ones,/ hooved ones,/ clawed ones./ Hurry, hurry! the ground said.” Attempting to avoid the crush of animals, Esther checks on her snail friend Solomon, coaxes Solomon onto an orange leaf, and the two ride it through the stormy air and onto the ark, where they join their fellow creatures: “excited ones,/ frightened ones,/ grateful ones.” In a sweet biblical retelling with deep resonance, the creators capture the many emotions of seeing a big event through small eyes. Ages 3–5. Author’s agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. Illustrator’s agent: Deborah Warren, East West Literary. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Snail's Ark:
“As the sky darkens and the air swirls, the previous collaborators (Dictionary for a Better World) conjure a snail’s-eye view of the desperate in-gathering, written in Latham’s rhythmic prose and rendered with visual urgency via Amini’s digitally enhanced acrylic-gouache collages. . . A sweet biblical retelling with deep resonance, the creators capture the many emotions of seeing a big event through small eyes.” —Publishers Weekly
“A sweet retelling of the story of Noah’s ark, from the snail’s perspective. . . Dramatic illustrations of the billowing skies and storm and then serene waters about to recede will seed some exciting story hour discussions. . . This tale has a lot to offer for little-snail-that-could devotees . . . [and] works for children of any faith.” —School Library Journal
“A pair of snails is at the heart of this Noah’s Ark story of perseverance and friendship. . . Amini’s hand-drawn and digitally layered acrylic-gouache collages convey the rushed forward-movement of the creatures and the progressively darkening skies. The interior of the ark and the animals’ faces are full of warmth and golden tones contrasting with the cool and tumultuous storm that rages outside. With loyalty, perseverance, and friendly animals, the story of Esther and Solomon is a refreshing new angle on a familiar tale.” —The Horn Book
“Noah’s Ark as told by one of the smallest passengers: Esther the snail . . [is a] breathless tale. The colors seem almost to glow in Amini’s artwork.” —Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal
01/01/2022
PreS-K—A deeply religious, sweet retelling of the story of Noah's ark, from the snail's perspective. Esther, a small snail, feels the earth moving and witnesses the procession of two-by-two animal pairs heading for an ark. Although Esther has survived rainy weather, something tells her that this storm is different. She seeks out her friend Solomon and then the two are airborne right into the ark. "They were flying!" What unfolds here is a tale that depends on readers to know every detail of the old story, and then to give themselves over to Esther's mindset. It works for secular collections, as there is no mention of God, or Noah, or any details of the biblical story. It falters only in voiding the suspense of the narrative—She's a snail! She cannot move quickly no matter how urgent!—in favor of a miraculous flight. That's in contrast with Dorothy M. Stewart's 2009 It's Hard to Hurry When You're a Snail, which is more overtly religious. Dramatic illustrations of the billowing skies and storm and then serene waters about to recede will seed some exciting story hour discussions. VERDICT The miraculous flight aside, this tale has a lot to offer for little-snail-that-could devotees. For collections that don't have Stewart's It's Hard to Hurry When You're a Snail, this works for children of any faith.—Kimberly Olson Fakih
Kirkus Reviews
2022-04-13
Noah’s Ark as told by one of the smallest passengers: Esther the snail.
When Esther awakens, she can tell something “big” is going on. The air feels like a storm is brewing, and there’s a giant “something” far off that other animals are drawn to. As Esther watches, animals from the land, air, and water hurry toward it, their footsteps thumping, their wings thrumming, and the land, sky, and river all saying to Esther “hurry, hurry!” But Esther must find her friend Solomon. The two use their sticky feet to glue themselves to a fallen leaf, and Esther’s prayer—“Please….Help us.”—is answered with what some might see as a miracle, others as a deus ex machina: A gust of wind transports the two snails to the deck of the ark, where they say a final prayer—“Thank you, thank you”—before settling in. On the two pages that follow, readers see the ark afloat in the storm and then beached high amid mountains—a sudden ending to a somewhat breathless tale. The colors seem almost to glow in Amini’s artwork, the animals drawn in a scratchy, cartoonlike style. Those up on their snail biology may cringe: Latham uses antlers instead of tentacles, and Esther, though she is shown on land near a river, is illustrated as a sea snail, with eyes on her body. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Doesn’t add much to the Noah’s Ark canon. (Religious picture book. 3-6)
