The Snail House - Hardcover

Ahlberg, Allan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763607118 ISBN 13: 9780763607111

Publisher: Candlewick, 2001

Synopsis

Allan Ahlberg's fanciful tale, paired with beautifully detailed artwork by Gillian Tyler, invites children to see the world from a different perspective.

Here is the story Grandma tells one evening on her wide veranda steps. It has Michael and Hannah and the disappearing baby in it, a tigerish bird,
raindrops like sacks of water, and the hugest apple you ever saw. Oh yes . . . and the Snail House. So gather round, climb up now into Grandma’s lap. Darkness is falling, the air is still, and the story is just about to begin.

With rhythmic text and intricate illustrations, renowned author Allan Ahlberg and illustrator Gillian Tyler have crafted a magical tale about the joys of seeing the world up close—and of sharing stories.

About this title

About the Author

Allan Ahlberg is one of the most acclaimed and successful authors
of children’s books, particularly in partnership with his wife Janet, who died in 1994. Among his numerous classic picture books are THE JOLLY
POSTMAN books, BURGLAR BILL, EACH PEACH PEAR PLUM, and PEEPO!

Gillian Tyler is highly regarded as an illustrator, particularly for her detailed miniatures of the natural world. "What I enjoyed most about illustrating THE SNAIL HOUSE," she says, "was the challenge I faced in observing and drawing nature from such a close point of view."

Reviews

K-Gr 3-Sitting on the steps of a country farmhouse after a full day of strawberry picking, Grandma weaves a tale of fantasy for Michael, Hannah, and the baby. "Once upon a long, long time ago there was a boy and his sister and their little baby brother who all of a sudden got so very, very small that they could leave that house of theirs by a crack under the door-." The tiny youngsters set up housekeeping in a mobile snail house and adventures await as they move through the garden. Their experiences allow readers to understand the beauty, strength, and fragility of the natural world that lies in their own backyards. The illustrations are integral to enhancing this message. Although the artist is well known for her detailed wood engravings in fine book press editions, these watercolor and pen-and-ink drawings are no less exquisite. The detail of each frame, regardless of size, infuses the story with a visual sensitivity and imagination. The action can be followed by younger children without having to read a word. The story and artwork together kindle the magic for anyone who has ever dreamed of unseen worlds with secret doors.-Tina Hudak, St. Bernard's School, Riverdale, MD

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Tyler's (The Good Little Christmas Tree) paneled, watercolor and pen-and-ink pictures in miniature play a pivotal role in revealing the engaging action in this creatively designed, horizontal volume. Small-scaled, wispy and finely detailed, her art bears an uncanny resemblance to that of the late Janet Ahlberg. In his story within a story, author Ahlberg introduces a brother and sister who climb into their grandmother's ample lap while their baby brother dozes in a stroller. The woman tells them about three siblings portrayed in the pictures as their look-alikes who one day shrink to a tiny size and take up residence in a snail's shell: "It was a proper house too, with a door and windows, roof and chimney, table, chairs, three little beds, curtains, and crockery everything!" Side panels show the siblings battling bugs with a broomstick and hanging laundry on a line fixed between the snail's feelers. As the children eagerly interrupt their grandmother to comment on her tale, the nimble, conversational narrative describes a trio of adventures that the children embark upon before bidding farewell to their snail. Ahlberg again displays his gift for storytelling in a work that will surely set young imaginations loose and may well color the way readers view diminutive garden dwellers. Tyler's paintings prove that she is equally adept at depicting these likable human characters as she is the natural world. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4-6. Michael and Hannah climb into Grandma's lap to hear a story about three children very much like Michael, Hannah, and their baby brother, who suddenly became "so very, very small that they could leave that house of theirs by a crack under the door--and no one notice[d]." The tiny children take up housekeeping in the shell of an amiable snail and have three adventures. In the first, an apple falls beside the snail. Next, the baby wanders off alone. Finally, a thrush is about to attack the snail, when a cat scares it away. Ahlberg's narrative has a leisurely, yet sure footed pace. Tinted with watercolors, the lively pen-and-ink drawings reflect the appealing, old-fashioned air of the text. Sometimes the interior tale is illustrated through a series of small frames or panels, as in a comic book, but with a delicacy of color and intricacy of detail seldom seen in that format. Certain children will be fascinated by Tyler's imaginative depiction of the lilliputian domestic details of snail-house life. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0763607118
• ISBN 13: 9780763607111
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Tyler Gillian
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32